Names are very important to people. Parents choose the name of their child carefully, if not always wisely. People do not like having their name forgotten or misspelled. Some cultures still attach great importance to the meaning of a name. In Europe it was long normative to give the name of a saint at baptism in the Roman Catholic Church. When we turn to the bible we find a very complex and subtle attitude to names. Adam was given the task of naming all the animals (see Gen 2:19-20). This signified his stewardship and domination over them all (Gen 1:26). After her creation Adam named his companion “Woman,” and later Eve as mother of all the living. This may have the further idea of accepting her as companion (Gen 2:21-24).

The meaning of names is also very important in the Old Testament. We are often given a reason, even ones that do not really correspond accurately with the Hebrew language. Thus the Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted the Hebrew child found by the Nile called him Moses “because she said I drew him out of the water” (Exod 2:10). Furthermore to know a name can have the sense of having special knowledge or even power, authority or special access with regard a person. The angel of God gave Jacob the new name of Israel, but declined to reveal his own. (Gen 32:27-29). When he asked the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who appeared to him in the burning bush, Moses was given the answer, “I am who I am” a mysterious reference to the Great Being, the one who acts. (see Exod 3:13-15).

Name changes for new situations and missions are found especially in the time of the patriarchs. This continues in the New Testament when Jesus gives Simon, the chief apostle, the name Rock (Aramaic Cephas, translated as Peter—Matt 16:18). In the Old Testament, therefore, a name is more than an identifying tag. It often means “person” so that “to call on the name of the Lord” actually means to pray or worship God (e.g. Ps 116: 4.13.17).

The name Jesus

When we look at the infancy stories in the gospel, we find in Mathew that Joseph was at a loss about what to do when he learned of Mary’s pregnancy. His thoughts about sending her away were dispelled by the angel in a dream: he is not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, and moreover he is to name the child Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:2,10). Giving a name was the task of a father, so Joseph is acknowledging his adopted son, Jesus. Here the name specifies his future of Messiah, namely to be a saviour for in the languages of the time “Jesus” and “he will save” are similar. Matthew also knows the name in Isaiah, “Emmanuel” which means “God is with us” (Isa 7:14 with Matt. 1:23). Generally in the gospels he is called “Jesus” but in other New Testament works the name for the Messiah, “Christ” (the Anointed One) is also used, or the two combined, “Christ Jesus” or “Jesus Christ.”

In the name

The name “Jesus” is much more than a designation by which he would be called by his family or friends. After Pentecost Peter proclaimed before the Jewish authorities: “There is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Within two decades Paul would cite an early hymn which described the humiliation of the Messiah which concluded:Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name which is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:9-11). The name of the Messiah is the exaltation of Jesus at Easter and the Ascension. The name of Jesus is not a magical invocation or a mere use of words, but it is invoking and making present the person and the power of Jesus. Thus the Jewish authorities demanded from Peter “by what power or by what name” did he cure the lame man; Peter had actually said “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk” (Acts 4:7 with 3:6). They then charged Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18).

Baptism in the name of Jesus

In the New Testament we find several references to “baptism in the name of Jesus”. One reason for this term is to distinguish Spirit-Baptism after Pentecost from the baptism for repentance administered by John in the Jordan (see Acts 19:1-6). This baptism in the name of Jesus was described more specifically at the end of Matthew’s gospel: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19). The Greek text makes clear that this is not just a mention of the members of the Trinity. The baptised person is moved into each of the three Persons (eis with accusative indicating movement towards). One is thus baptised, plunged “into the name,” that is immersed into the individual divine Persons and their family bonds. Clearly name here means person. Paul was invited by Ananias to be baptised “and have his sins washed away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16), again reaching out to Jesus Christ. The Sign of the Cross is another example of the Christian reaching out to, or dedicating something, to the individual Persons of the Trinity. The solemnity of these words, and of the Cross which on Calvary has allowed access to the Trinity, are not always appreciated as we wave around our right hand perhaps somewhere in the space between our chin and chest.

A core theme of our faith

The second commandment of God usually cited as “You shall not take the name of your God in vain.” Its primary meaning at the time of Moses was probably a prohibition against magic, but it is explained for us today in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as mostly concerned with false promises in God’s name, blasphemy, perjury (see nn. 2142-2167). Abuse of the name of Jesus in ordinary speech, which is indeed regrettable, is not what is directly forbidden by God on Mount Sinai. This last should be looked at in terms of esteem: we would not use the name of our mother or father, of our children, or close friends with disrespect.As we look at the biblical teaching on name, we can be drawn more into the mystery of God’s love. The name of God, of the Trinity, or Jesus should guide us in all our actions and especially prayer in the name of Jesus. (Part two in the next issue)

Fr Chris O’Donnell, O.Carm is a theologian and a retreat master from Dublin who has written many books.