Wednesday 18 December

Jeremiah 23:5-8, Ps 71:1-2, 12-13, 18-19, Matthew 1:18-25

The holy name

Today we might reflect on Our Lord’s holy name, “Jesus”. It’s root meaning is “to save”. “Yahweh is our saving justice” (Jeremiah). “He named him Jesus” (Matthew 1:25). The Hebrew word is “Yeshua”, which means “God saves”. Jesus is our Lord and our King, but most important of all he is our Saviour. To be loved by God would not be enough if we were not also “saved”, saved from the eternal separation from God which would otherwise be the consequence of our sinfulness.