What's in a name? A name can tell us about where a person is from, what he or she does and expresses a person's identity. The name "Jesus" means "Yahweh is salvation". It is a name that describes Jesus' mission and also praises God.

Today's Gospel reveals something else about the identity of Jesus - He is the Son of God. Throughout the Gospel of John, words and images stress the profound union between Jesus and God. The first letter of John builds on this theme. It presumes that Christ and God are one and goes on to emphasize the implications of this for us as Christians. It uses the notion of kinship to express how closely we are related to God. The letter boldly proclaims that we are children of God.

This gift of kinship is given in abundant love. It is not enough that Yahweh has saved us. God further invites us to intimately relate with the one who has redeemed us. We are called to respond to the love we have received. One way of doing this is by living out our identity as God's children in the world, through lives of purity and justice. As we walk this path, we can confidently call and rely upon the name of Jesus.