Washed and Named

One of the joys of being a pastor for me is taking part in baptism; it is often a time when the mom and pastor in me get to intersect. I realized that close bond when my daughter was born during my first call. The next morning, the nurse brought in warm bath water, soft clean towels, and stood by as I bathed my child for the first time. I took her in my arms and began by washing her face, and then taking the water in my hand and gently pouring it on her head. I said her name as I held her and washed her clean. The connection between birth and the rebirth of baptism had never been clearer.

The difference is that later during baptism, the Word was added to the water as the water was poured and the pastor spoke, "Phoebe, I baptized you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." With those words, she was named and claimed as God's child. Those words are also the words we use to name God when we begin worship and in prayer.

In confirmation, we have been talking about God's name and how we use it as we study the first two of the ten commandments. The second commandment "You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain" in the modern translation reads "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God." What does that mean? After all, aside from Jesus (Christ is a title - not his name), God is not named Bob or Jenny. For people of the Old Testament, God's name is not something mere humans should even attempt to say, YHWH (what is written in Hebrew) is unpronounceable and when encountered in reading is replaced by "the Lord". What do we call God?

What is God's name and how do we use it?

All throughout the Bible, God is called different things but they are titles of relationship: "the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac", Immanuel (God with us), our Father, creator, savior, Holy Spirit, and more. The multitude of names and images of God emphasize two things: God is beyond our ability to fully understand and what we know of God, we know because of God's loving relationship withus.

Because of that, we are to treat God's name with care and respect despite what we hear all around us. As I read recently, we need to remember that "dammit is not God's last name". We are not to curse or use God's name for magic or to lie or deceive. When we use God's name for every little emphasis from swearing to writing OMG (O my God), we lessen the power God's name holds not only for the people around us but for ourselves as well. When "god" becomes a repeated comment without meaning ('oh god' this and 'oh god' that), it becomes less likely that we will hear hope and promise when we cry to God in help.

That is why how we are to use God's name is just as important as what we should not do. In the Small Catechism, Luther writes, we are to "use that very name in every time of need to call on, pray to, praise, and give thanks to God". In baptism, God claims us by name so that we can call upon God always and for everything. Because God has come to you just as you are and claims you in love and grace, you can call upon God with hope and confidence knowing that God is with you. Read Romans 10:8-13