Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…

The words are so familiar, we often rattle them off without even realizing what we are saying. My son is going through preparations for First Communion. As part of the first class, parents were supposed to talk with their child about what the words of the “Our Father” meant. As I began to discuss what each phrase meant, I quickly realized that this was a perfect catalyst for a deeper sharing of what my beliefs really are with my son. We did not get even past the first phrase before the moderator said it was time to move on. After the meeting, my son and I stopped at a gas station and picked out some Skittles for him and a slushy for me. We ate and drank our treats on a park bench as we finished discussing this prayer that our LORD gave us.

In our discussion, one phrase really stood out and summed up the rest of the prayer: “Hallowed be thy name.” To be “hallowed” means to be sacred, to be holy, to be something special. For example, in his address at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln referred to the ground having been “hallowed” or “consecrated” by the soldiers who fought and died there. The “Thy Name” refers to God’s name, YHWH. Even to this day, the Jewish people treat that name, which translates to “I am who am,” with such reverence that they do not even pronounce it, they say “adonai” (LORD) instead. During Jesus’ time, the only time it was allowed to be spoken out loud was on the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year, by the high priest, who would go into the Holy of Holies, (the holiest room in the temple), and whisper it. So the Jewish people treated God’s name with such reverence that only the high priest, (who was hopefully the holiest person), would say it once on the holiest day of the year in the holiest room of the temple, in other words, on the holiest spot on the planet.

So, God’s name is to be kept holy by being treated with reverence. But the questions arise, “By whom?” and “How?” Undoubtedly, we are the ones to keep God’s name holy, so how do we do that? Following the second of the Ten Commandments, “Do not use the LORD’s name in vain,” is a start. We don’t use God’s name to curse someone or something that makes us mad. Think about it, would you like your own name to be used and associated with moments of anger and hatred? Now imagine if you were a being of complete selfless love, (such as God is), having your name be used for hate would be pretty offensive.

However, keeping God’s name holy means more than just not swearing. Every single one of us were told at our Baptism that we have “put on Christ.” Indeed, that is why we are called “Christians,” because we have taken on the name of Christ. If we, ourselves, have taken on the name of Christ, then we also keep God’s name holy by how we act and how we live. The old saying comes to mind: “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” If I do something evil, then I am profaning the Christian name, Christ’s name, and in so doing, I am profaning God’s name; I am not keeping it holy! If the ancient Israelites had such a devout respect for God’s name that they only said it once a year in a whisper on the holiest day of the year, on the holiest place on earth, by the holiest person, then those of us who call ourselves by God’s name today need to make sure we are living up to that Name with the same measure of devotion!

So next time you pray the Our Father, ask yourself “Am I keeping God’s Name holy?” Pray it in the morning and ask yourself, “What am I going to do today to make God’s name holy?”