Name Above All Names

Yesterday, being both a Sunday and January 1, provided lectionary-abiding congregations with an option: to celebrate it as the First Sunday after Christmas or to celebrate the festival of the Name of Jesus, commemorating both the naming of the Christ-child and his circumcision on the eighth day after his birth.(Luke 2:21).

I suspect that most worshipers in so-called “liturgical churches” are not cognizant of the plethora of scriptural references present in the formal liturgy.  In light of this, and to connect this post to yesterday’s feast of the Name of Jesus, I offer a cursory look at the various times and ways in which the Name of God/Christ is invoked or simply referred to.

• invocation. “In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”
• Preparatory prayer for confession. “Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open…though Jesus Christ our Lord.”
• Prayer of confession. “Most merciful God…For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.”
• Absolution.  “In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins.  As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
• Apostolic greeting. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
• Kyrie.  “…let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, have mercy.”
• Gloria. “Glory to God in the highest and peace to God’s people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father. […] Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father. Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.”
• At the conclusion of the readings. “The word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.”
• Announcement of the gospel.  “Glory to you, O Lord.”
• Conclusion of the gospel.  “Praise to you, O Christ.”
• Nicene Creed.  “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty…We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father…We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…”
• Prayers of Intercession.  “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.”
• Sharing of the Peace.  “The peace of Christ be with you always.”
• Sursum corda.  “The Lord be with you; and also with you. Lift up your hearts; we lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God; it is right to give him thanks and praise.”
• Preface.  “It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, O Lord, Holy Father, almighty and everlasting God…”
• Sanctus.  “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.  Heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest.”
• Words of Institution.  “In the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body given for you.  Do this for the remembrance of me…”
• Lord’s prayer.  “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”
• Agnus Dei.  “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.  Have mercy on us…”
• Nunc dimittis.  “Now, Lord, you let your servant depart in peace…”
• Aaronic blessing.  “The Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy.  The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.”
• Dismissal.  “Go in peace. Serve the Lord.  Thanks be to God.”

This, in my opinion, is the joy of the formal liturgy of the Church catholic. It is easy, in the spirit of cultural accessibility, to start pruning the liturgy of it’s formalness and “Christian-ese.”  But the danger is one of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, pruning so severely that the service is left with little to no invocation of the name of the God we are there to worship.

You have a name; I have a name.  We get anxious and embarrassed when we forget someone’s name, knowing that names are important, part of that person’s identity.  To forget someone’s name makes us feel as though we’ve forgotten them as a person, that we’ve not considered them important enough to even keep track of who they are.  The name of our God should be no less important, no less impersonalized by monikers like “Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer” and the like.

The centuries-old liturgy will have none of that, as evidenced by it’s constant invocation of the name of Christ.  To that end, the feast of the Name of Jesus is one we celebrate virtually every Sunday.  Paul calls Jesus the name “that is above every name” (Phil 2.9).  Peter preached to his captors that “there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4.12).

Christ’s name is central to our faith and to our worship, and no visitor to such worship should leave wondering who is being worshiped or even why.