Hallowed Be Thy Name

In my first post ever on this blog I was discussing what the phrase "hallowed be thy name" means. Two months later, I was writing again on this topic. Today, I find myself back in that same place with yet more thoughts on the topic.

My first true meditations on the topic came about because I was teaching the Lord's Prayer to my Sunday school class. I struggled with communicating the concept of "hallowed" to these grade school kids, but did the best I could. It wasn't until yesterday when I was talking with my friend Rick that I realized why I've continued to struggle with this concept - there is NOTHING HALLOWED in the USA anymore. How do you convey a concept for which we have no context?

As I was thinking about this, I had to redefine the word hallowed into its verb form - to hallow. OK, that didn't get me very far. The deconstruction continued: If hallow means to set apart, to keep something from the profane then there is an active effort on our part to PROTECT that which should be hallowed - The name of God (as well as the Sabbath among other things, see those pesky 10 commandments.)

In my mind to hallow is to draw a line around something across which no profane or unholy thing may enter. We build a wall and then protect what is inside. I think this is very much the idea behind using the Lord's name in vain as well. God is so sacred, so holy that even his very name should be set apart and not used lightly.

Again, this enlightened my thinking about another odd phrase - at least to my 21st century ears: Lift up the name of God (and similar constructions.) Ahhh - now I have a vision of this. We hold God above the profane, above the average, we protect it, metaphorically, from the things of a sinful world. Further, we elevate its stature beyond something mundane - it is important, it is beautiful, precious, valuable. We are not to approach the throne of God lightly.

So what does this mean practically? I think that it means we must not be passive about God. "Hallowed be thy name" is not simply a reverential phrase, it is a call to action. We are to actively protect, defend, exalt and proclaim the name of God. It is an act of worship. We must regain the sense of reverence that the very name of God should invoke.

In Jewish tradition, "God" is never spoken or written, instead G-d is often used in print and the Tetragrammaton ( י‎ (yodh) ה‎ (heh) ו‎ (vav) ה‎ (heh) or יהוה‎ - YHWH) is said "Adonai" or "Hashem" not Yahweh. While seemingly legalistic, it is a visceral reminder that the very name of God is set apart and not to be used in the same way as any other name. I wonder if it might not be time for Christians to begin to look more closely at this idea - not to add another rule, but rather a tradition. It may be time to reevaluate and bring back the sacred in a deeper and more meaningful way - at least it feels like that for me.

Christian Bloggers

I've added this blog to Christian Bloggers, a site which aggregates a publishes feeds from bloggers who are Christian. If you are curious what other people are writing from a Christian perspective, check it out. There's plenty of theology, but also life-in-general stuff (not unlike the potpourri you find here.)

Check it out - I'm sure you'll see it growing: http://www.christian-bloggers.com/index.php

The Psalms

This is a "Quote of the Day" and I really like it. The Psalms, like many passages in the Hebrew scriptures can be mystifying. In one Psalm, David (or one of the other authors) is contrite, in the next worshipful and in the next asking for retribution on his enemies. I finally came to the conclusion that while this was scripture, it was also the thoughts, feelings, cries and songs of a person like you or me. How we disentangle the pathos of human life from the truth of who God is can only be done through prayer, I believe. Yet the Psalms are a very important part of our scriptural meditation and cannot be ignored because we don't like what they say. So here is the quote and attribution which is much more eloquent than me.

The Psalms defy our notions of profane and sacred, proving that everything we feel, witness, do unto others, and have done to us is acceptable subject matter for conversing with the Divine. They invite us to bring every part of ourselves into our houses of worship. If we omit expressions of faith lost, of rage, of disdain, and of the desire for revenge, we leave parts of ourselves at the door.

- Kari Jo Verhulst, in "The Dangers of De-Fanging God," Sojourners, Nov-Dec 1999

Isaiah on Tuesday - Images of Redemption

Once more as I approach Isaiah I find that chapter divisions, while helpful for reference, divide the text where they should probably stay together. Last time, I looked at Isaiah 34 and likened the prose to a Conan novel due to its graphic and fantastical content.

This week starts where that chapter left off, although with a completely different theme. Last time, Isaiah was deep in judgment; today he is full of promise. To Isaiah, the physical world around him was a metaphor for what is and what is to come. In chapter 35, he uses that world to describe what redemption will be like:

1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.

He then goes on to list the imperfections that will be made Perfect:

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;

4 say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.

He then returns to the land around him as the desert, the burning sand, becomes a pool - a place of refreshment. Finally, a road will lead to the holy city upon which there is no fear of bandit or wild animal. The righteous will walk it and upon entering the city:

the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

That sounds pretty good to me. Redemption from Isaiah's standpoint is corruption becoming pure, emptiness becoming full, sickness being healed and barriers being removed. Hey! I want to be redeemed! Luckily, that's the promise under which we live.

Researchers say Canadian injection site a success - Reuters

Researchers say Canadian injection site a success (Reuters.com)

This came out last week and I wanted to write about it then, but didn't get the chance. Vancouver, BC tried an experiment in sane drug policy which was a great success. A site was provided where injection drug users could go a shoot up in a clean and safe environment. The needles were clean and disposed of safely and the users were able to get help treating their addictions.

Fears that crime would increase around the site were unfounded and in fact quite the opposite occurred. The treatment level was astounding and the public health ramifications positive, in that the spread of HIV/AIDS and other harms from needle sharing were diminished.

Drug policy (and other social policies) in the United States tend toward criminalization. Make things illegal and let the courts deal with those who break the law (or on the other side make them legal and let the states figure it out.) However, simply making something illegal doesn't make it go away, it just means that law enforcement deals with the problem, which isn't always the best institution to handle social ills.

The Vancouver experiment has shown us that other solutions can be much more effective than simple shuttling addicts off to jail. This is, of course, common sense but common sense isn't always easy, nor wisdom often cheap. I'm not advocating decriminalization - at least not yet - but I would advocate a radical shift in the way we deal with drugs in this country. Addicts need help to deal with their addiction and jail should be a method of last resort.

Of Coarse Knot

Words are funny things and homonyms add even more confusion to our already confusing language. This isn't about homonyms per se, but about a slight mishearing my son Avi had when we arrived at church this last Sunday morning.

The context is somewhat fuzzy in my mind but Avi was still buckled in his seat and wanting to get out. Elizabeth, my wife, said something like, "We're not going to leave you in the car." I added, "Of course not!" The next thing I hear is Avi saying, "I'm not a poor snot!" Well, of course, not! Who's on first?

I guess it's a good insight into the mind of an almost-three-year-old. They haven't built the mental framework and phrase vocabulary to hear a snippet of speech, understand the context and interpret back into its intended meaning. This takes years of immersion in a language and one of the reasons that sarcasm isn't well understood until well into the grade-school years. It's important for us to continue to make sure that Avi understands what we mean when we say it and have him repeat back his own interpretation of events, instructions, jokes, whatever. He's very good at acting like he understands - and he probably thinks he does, but until we hear it back we can't be so sure.

Just another adventure in parenting - untangling the strange tangles of cognitive linguistics - a coarse knot, to be sure . (or is it two bee shore...?)