LENTEN WEDNESDAY 2, 2010 

“Hallowed be Thy Name.” What are we saying when we say these words? Hallowed means holy; may Your name be holy. Well, isn’t God’s name holy? Of course it is. We don’t make it so ourselves by anything we do, including by praying. We can’t change God or affect Him in any way. 

Lord, may Your name be holy among us; that is what is Jesus teaching us to say when He tells us to pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name.” How is God’s name honored among us? Well, God is honored by what we say about Him – teaching – and by what our lives say about Him – living. Teaching and living: they go together, for actions speak, and they may be louder than words. 

Let’s start with teaching. God is great and powerful. So is His name. What is His name? Does it matter how you address Him, by what name you call upon Him? In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet speaks the famous words: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." So, does it matter how we address God? Does He care whether we call Him the Holy Trinity, or Jesus, or Allah, or, like the Jewish people, refuse to even pronounce His name in order to not offend against His holiness? Most people would say that it doesn’t matter. “There’s only one God. It really doesn’t matter what you call Him.” Well, I have only one wife, and her name is Lorayne. If you speak of her differently, so that people think of someone else as my wife besides Lorayne, or think about her differently than they should, that matters to me. 

Jesus says, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him… He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” If you want to address God by a personal name, then it better be Jesus, for God wants you to think of Jesus, and no one else, when you think of Him. God has revealed Himself in Jesus, and in Him alone. So, to hallow God’s name is to teach about Jesus, and to do so rightly. 

But, teaching is not speaking to the wind; it involves hearers. So, when we pray, “Hallowed be Thy name,” we’re saying: “Father, help us to not only teach about You rightly but to hear You rightly.” This means hearing God regularly, gladly, and with understanding and faith. It means praying for, seeking out, and holding to the right teaching of His Word, while avoiding false teaching and teachers. For, when we so hear and believe God’s name proclaimed, then we have God and His salvation. Luther says in the Large Catechism:

“God’s name was given to us when we became Christians at Baptism, and so we are called children of God and enjoy the sacraments, through which He so incorporates us with Himself that all that is God’s must serve for our use.”

As all that is God’s is Christ’s – for, Jesus says, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me” – then all that is God’s is also yours, for Jesus joined you to Himself in your Baptism. Holiness; strength to overcome every temptation; eternal life and heaven itself; the mighty angels; all this and more, which is God’s, must therefore serve for our use. God makes Himself available to you, with all that is His, in the name of Jesus! 

Our Lord gives us so much in His holy name! Let us use what God gives us well by using His name well. Let us honor Him by showing forth in our lives what we teach and confess with our lips and receive in our hearts. Teaching and living go together, and actions are often louder than words. 

Just think, for instance, if six months ago the name Tiger Woods was mentioned. Most people would think of: a championship golfer, the best in the world and perhaps the best ever; an extraordinarily successful athlete whose face was constantly seen in ads because he was the epitome of success. But, mention Tiger Woods now and what comes to people’s minds? A foolish, selfish, uncaring man who turned his back on his beautiful wife and children to satisfy his own lusts with many other women. He recently apologized publicly. Do people believe him? I suspect that most will wait to see his actions. It is they that must speak. 

We have even more reason than Tiger does for our actions to speak loudly and honorably. Of course, none of us are well known in this world because of our athletic prowess or our success. But, that doesn’t matter. In Christ you are far greater than Tiger Woods and have far more than he will ever have. You have the Triune God with you. You have His favor and blessing. You have His mighty angels as your servants. You are eternal people who will be honored by God in the judgment! And, you have Christ as your heavenly bridegroom. This should transform our lives and be seen in our lives: in our joy, our confidence in the midst of trial, our rejection of sinful ways, and our giving of ourselves for the good of others and not self. This is how Jesus lived, and as His people we are to live in this way also, to the honor and glory of God. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus says. “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” In this way we hallow His name. 

Luther, Large Catechism: “If you pray this petition wholeheartedly, you can be sure that God is pleased. For there is nothing He would rather hear than to have His glory and praise exalted above everything else and His Word taught in its purity and cherished and treasured.”