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it announces God’s graciousness to those who hear it, and it summons John to be gra-
cious for his namesake.
Zechariah amazingly recovers his speech in affirming Elizabeth, while naming the ba-
by as God willed. He then sings, “And you, child will be called prophet of the Most
High, for you go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” (Luke 1: 76.)
The Lord for whom John prepared the way is “Jesus,” a name which means “God
saves.” “Jesus” -- to say the name is to pray for God’s most gracious promise of salva-
tion from sin by repentance, as preached by John, but accomplished through Jesus’
death and resurrection.
Prayer
O God, names were given to us by those who loved us before we were born, who said
“yes” to your gift of new life. To you and to them we are grateful. In reflecting upon
our names and remembering those who gave them, we pray for deeper insight into
how our very names
may be summoning
us to do your will on
earth. Named after
my grandfathers, I,
Phillip James Ar-
gento, pray to discern
in “Phillip” -- “horse
lover” in Greek (no
Hebrew equivalent)
and in “James” –
“follower” in Hebrew,
new insight into what
God is calling me to
do.
_______
Phil Argento
Eucharistic Minister