Honoring the Family Name

"Pray in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name" (Mat 6:9)

One of the first things parents do when a child is born, or when an adoption is finalized, is to give the child a name.  While there are many approaches to naming a child, one thing is standard in most naming practices: the child is given the family name (which we call a last name), and becomes a representative of that family lineage in the world.  The same is true for those of us who are adopted as God’s children in baptism.  When we are baptized, we are named as God’s children – members of God’s family.  As such, we bear the very name of God, stamped upon us by our Father.

           

            What is God’s name?  God’s name has always been shrouded in mystery.  When confronted by God in the burning bush, Moses asked for God’s name.  God’s response was baffling:  “I AM WHAT I AM,” (Exod 3:13-14).  From this phrase came the tetragrammeton -  those four letters that express the name of God: YHWH.  There are no vowels, and so they are unpronounceable.  God’s name is mysterious.  So mysterious, in fact, that no human being has ever uttered it.

           

            Yet, while God’s name is unpronounceable, it is not unknown to us.  God’s only Son, Jesus our Lord, took on flesh in order to reveal to us God’s name (John 17:6).  Just as a son carries on the name of his father, so Jesus, God’s Son, carries on the name of God.  Jesus demonstrates that God’s name represents God’s being and character.  And so God’s name is love, peace, mercy, forgiveness, hope, power, healing, grace, and kindness.  Yet, above all these things, the Bible tells us that God’s name is holy (Isa 6:3).  God’s name is the only name whereby human beings receive salvation (Acts 4:12).  It is the name that will one day drive all people to their knees in worship and confession of God’s lordship in Jesus Christ (Phil 2:10-11).

The unpronounceable name of God,

called the tetragrammeton.  In the Bible, this word

is translated as "The LORD."

           

            Our first request in the Lord’s prayer is that God’s name be hallowed – that is, that God’s name may be made holy.  Now, God’s name is already holy.  There is no sense in which our prayer – or our failure to pray – will affect the holiness of God’s name.  Our prayer, then, is not that God’s name would be made Holy, but that God’s name would be made holy in us who bear this name. 

            From the very beginning of God’s relationship with Israel, there is testimony to how difficult it is for human beings to hallow God’s name.  Rather than giving praise to God’s name, human beings tend to defame it by their sinfulness.  Instead of bringing glory to the name of the Father, human sin places shame on the family name.  In response to our fallen condition, God gave us the third commandment, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God” (Exod 20:7).  Jesus’ instruction that we pray for the hallowing of God’s name is not new teaching.  Rather, it is the continuation of God’s call to Israel to live in a such a way as to bring glory to God’s name.

           

            Therefore, when we pray “Hallowed be your name” we are praying that our words and deeds may reflect and bring glory to God’s name.  Since God’s name is holy, it follows that our prayer is that we too would be holy – that our lives would reflect the holiness of God.  To be holy is to be like God.  To be holy is to be in tune with Holy Spirit.  To be holy is to let our lives be a song that sings with the angels their unending hymn:

                       

                        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.

           

            The next time you pray the Lord’s prayer, consider what a great gift and calling it is to be a bearer of God’s name.  Reflect on who God is, and then consider whether or not your life is a faithful reflection of God that brings glory to God’s holy name.  Then pray for God’s grace and strength to make you holy.  Pray that God would shape and form you to live and be like Jesus, whose life, death, and resurrection reveals God’s name.

Our Father

In my Lenten devotions this year, the Lord’s Prayer has played a prominent role, as I have been thinking about the meaning of this prayer that I have offered thousands of times.  In last Sunday’s sermon, I spoke about the prayer’s fourth petition, “Forgive us our sins.”  Now, I offer this reflection on the prayer's opening.

“Pray in this way: Our Father in Heaven...” (Matthew 6:9)

Jesus teaches us to begin our prayer with a most blessed gift: we get to call God our Father just as Jesus calls God his Father.  This implies our brotherhood with Jesus.  Our Father is the same Father of our Lord, which makes us Jesus’ siblings.  This tells us something about our relationship with God.  We are not first and foremost to think of ourselves as criminals in God’s courtroom, but as God’s children – family members in the household of God.  We are given confidence to pray boldly and honestly. Our prayer is being offered in the family room of God’s household, not in God’s courtroom.  We do not address God our judge, but God our Father.

           

            There are two primary ways in which God is our Father.  First, God is the Father of all creation.  Each of us is created in the image of God (Gen 1:27).  Since God is the one who formed us and knew us before we were even in the womb (Jer 1:5), it follows that each of us is a child of God and can rightly call God our Father.  So, when we pray “Our Father” we are immediately reminded of our unity with all human beings.  God is not “my” Father, as if I bear some special privilege that others do not.  God is our Father, and we are all brothers and sisters by virtue of our status as persons created in the image of God.

            Yet, for those who are incorporated into Christ’s body (the church) through baptism, there is yet another way in which God is our Father.  When we are baptized, we receive the seal of the Holy Spirit, which marks us as adopted children of God (Rom 8:15-16).  In the act of baptism we participate in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Jesus (Rom 6:1-12).  Our old sinful life is drowned in the baptismal waters, and we are reborn (John 3:3-8), arising from the waters a new person – a child of God.  We enter the waters as children of Adam, heirs of sin and death. We arise from the waters as children of God, heirs of God’s kingdom and eternal life.

            While calling God our Father is indeed a great gift of grace, it is also a great responsibility for us who have been adopted as God’s children.  In our baptism God calls us to lead lives that are worthy of the children of God (Rom 12:1).  This means that we should submit to the commands of our Father, who calls us to walk before him in holiness and righteousness.  Our lives should testify to the goodness and love of our Father who formed us in his image.  To pray “Our Father” is both to remember the gracious Spirit of adoption we received in baptism, while also proclaiming our responsibility to live as children of God.

           

            The next time you pray the Lord’s Prayer, pause and reflect on the significance of calling God your Father.  If you have already been baptized, remember your baptism and the great commitment God made in adopting you.  If you are yet to be baptized, consider what a gracious gift we have in being created in God’s image.  Once you have reflected on these things, ask yourself if you are living a life worthy of a child of God.  Do you bring honor and glory to your Father through the way you live?  What areas of your life miss the mark when it comes to living faithfully as God’s child?  

One Great Hour of Sharing

With General Conference on the horizon, United Methodists across the globe have been spending a lot of time praying over and discussing all that is wrong with the church and how to fix it.  I want to take a moment to highlight something that is absolutely right about our denomination: The United Methodist Committee on Relief, better known as UMCOR.

UMCOR is the humanitarian aid organization of the UMC.  In over 80 countries around the world, UMCOR is working to alleviate human suffering caused by natural disasters, war, and desperate poverty.  Rooted in the compassionate love of Jesus, UMCOR offers grace, healing, and dignity to those who in many cases have lost everything.

UMCOR was one of the first relief organizations on the scene following the tsunami in Japan, the earthquake in Haiti, and Hurricane Katrina in the U.S.  What is more, UMCOR continues to serve in all those places, and has a reputation for sticking with recovery efforts all the way to the end, long after many disaster areas have faded from public consciousness.

 What is more, 100% of every dollar given to an UMCOR relief effort goes directly to the project.  This is possible because of the annual “One Great Hour of Sharing” offering, which we’ll participate in at Faith UMC this Sunday, March 18th.

By giving to “One Great Hour of Sharing” you support the administrative costs of UMCOR and free the organization to focus on its mission and ministry throughout the year.  This Sunday, we’ll have special envelopes available for you to support UMCOR.  If you aren’t able to join us in worship, you can give at this link.  I hope you’ll join me in supporting this vital ministry of our church.

On Hines Ward and Following Jesus

Just look at those pearly whites!

Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they will release Hines Ward, marking the end of Ward’s 15 year hall of fame worthy career with the team.  Ward will be remembered for a lot of things in Pittsburgh: his devastating blocks, fearlessness over the middle of the field, and MVP performance in Super Bowl XL, to name a few.  But the one memory that may rise above the rest is Ward’s ever present smile.

Whether he was waltzing into the end zone in the third quarter of the Super Bowl, getting leveled over the middle by Ray Lewis, or completing his fitness testing on day one of training camp, the cameras always caught Ward with a smile on his face.  I don’t know Ward  personally, but it seems pretty obvious that this guy loves football.

Ward  has never been known as a great athlete.  He’s not the biggest, strongest, fastest, most skilled receiver to don the black and gold.  What made Ward great was his willingness to submit himself to the disciplines of the gridiron.  He worked hard to run precise routes, block with great technique, read defenses and find soft spots in the coverage.  Every catch, block, and touchdown Ward achieved was the result of hours of disciplined study and training – all done with a smile on his face.

It may be a stretch to jump from a tribute to Hines Ward to a reflection on the Christian life, but I’m going to give it a whirl. 

When Jesus gathered his team of disciples, he didn’t draft men with the most natural gifts in godliness.  These disciples were rough around the edges, and weren’t the brightest and best that first century Israel had to offer.  One day, as Jesus began to teach them that he must suffer and die, Jesus said to his disciples “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).         

You don’t have to be perfect to follow Jesus.  You don’t have to have the sharpest mind, or the most spiritual disposition.  But you do have to be willing to submit to the disciplines of the Christian life: to deny yourself and take up the way of Jesus.  After all, the root of the word “disciple” and the word “discipline” is the same.  To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus, means being willing to enter into training in the self-giving, sacrificial love that Jesus came to demonstrate.

Lent is time for training camp.  The Lenten season calls us to the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and biblical study, with the understanding that by submitting to these disciplines, we become better Christians.  We become better followers of Jesus because through these practices, God works in us through the Holy Spirit.

This Lent, I hope you’ll submit yourself to the disciplines of the Christian life.  And (like Ward)  I hope you’ll do so with a smile on your face, because even though disciplines can be hard, they are a means of God’s grace.  Besides, wouldn’t it be cool if others could see the smile on your faces and say “It seems pretty obvious that you love Jesus!”