Friday, July 17, 2015

Four Letter Words

Uttering names with utmost care
Exodus 3:13-15
             Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him, “When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you.” God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; this my title for all generations.

            In the seminary we learned how to say Mass properly.  One of the rubrics – those are the instructions for saying Mass – was that whenever Jesus’ name is mentioned the priest should bow his head as a sign of respect for that holy name.  Well, one friend was rather scrupulous about this and would do that in everyday conversations.  So another seminarian teased him endlessly by using Jesus’ name in every sentence, just to make my friend bow his head repeatedly.  He resembled one of those bobble head dolls, or how we Indians speak while shaking our heads.  But that scrupulous seminarian had the right intention: trying to show honor for the holy name of Jesus, even he if got a little carried away.

            In the first reading from Exodus chapter 3, Moses learns another name that should be honored and revered, the holy name of God.  When Moses asks God his name, the Almighty answers: “I am who I am,” which in Hebrew is rendered with four letters, YHWH, or “Yahweh.”  By the 6th century B.C. it was forbidden for a Jew to even say that Name.  It was the first four letter word you should never say!  Not because it’s a bad word, but because it’s so good and holy, our lips are not clean enough to utter it.  Good thing my scrupulous friend was not a Jew, he would have looked like he was having an epileptic seizure as he spoke. But you see, some names are so sacred that we shouldn’t even say them.

            My friends, let me suggest to you that all names are sacred, not just divine names but also human names, including  yours and mine.  You don’t need to bow your head when you say “Fr. John” but I do hope you’ll say my name with respect when you talk about me.  Don’t you hope people will do that with your name when they talk about you?  I learned this lesson when I wrote my book last year.  The editor said I could not mention someone specifically by name without their permission.  Can you imagine if we applied that same rule, that rubric, in our daily conversations?  Don’t say someone’s name without their permission!  We’d all be like my scrupulous seminarian friend: bobbling our heads and stopping and starting suddenly in our sentences.  No wonder Indian people bobble our heads when we speak: we’re really showing respect for people!  Everyone should be more like Indians.

            Do you know what the second of the Ten Commandments is?  Of course you do: do not take the name of the Lord in vain.  The Jews felt like we always take God’s name in vain, so they stopped saying his name altogether.  Let me invite you to expand that commandment to include ALL names, even yours and mine, and avoid taking all names in vain.  You see, names are sacred syllables and they should only be uttered with due honor and esteem.


            Praised be Jesus Christ!

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