What’s in a name?

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. Luke 2:21

Today, we reflect on an often-overlooked, but noteworthy short scripture.  There is both tradition and significance behind the Jewish practice of naming a child days after being born. My purpose here is not to give you a lesson in that practice, but to remind you of what the name “Jesus” means. In Hebrew, Jesus is Yeshua which means “Yahweh is salvation”.  Did you know that many Jewish didn’t/don’t speak the name, Yahweh, because of its sacredness?  Indeed, even the pronunciation is as mysterious as God. In Hebrew, it’s spelled with all vowels…giving a sound the like a breath of life.  God is life because God is love.