First Church in Albany

becomes clear that there is no unanswered prayer, for God is Love in all things! Prayers offered with this truth in mind really honor and hallow God's name and also God's purposes for us. We then can honor God not only with our lips, but also with our lives.

Pastoral Reflection: God's Holy Name does not become "Holy" because we pray it, but because it is Holy. But, we can besmirch God's name in how we live. We are God's holy representatives on earth, and how we speak, think and act can recommend-- or diminish-- God's holiness to others. The word "Thy" in "Hallowed Be Thy Name," is a personal pronoun of intimacy-- one which describes the rich relationship we have with God. It is an intimacy that grows and can always continue to grow. It is important that we get this right, for just as when we learn and use the name of a friend, our intimacy in relation to that friend grows, so too our intimacy with God grows by our honored use of God's name. It is all the more important that we do this with God, for God's name is "Holy."

In the Old Testament when the Jews were in exile they thought God's name, "Yahweh" or "Elohim," was too holy even to speak, and so, they used "Adonai." Later, Jesus used "Abba." Our equivalent would be "Daddy," a term of intimacy and endearment. We can learn from these examples, viewing God as both Father and Friend. And in the name, "I am that I am," the mystery of God is shattered, for God is saying by this name, "I am here, I am really present to help, not abstractly, but personally present." This augments even God's absolute holiness, for it brings it close to us, next to us, and available to us-- at all times and in all places.

We can also look to several of the Ten Commandments in seeking to better understand what the proper use of God's name means. For instance, in the Second Commandment, we are counseled not to have any other gods before the one true God; in the Third Commandment, we are asked not to take God's name in vain, even by casual conversation that has no substance; and in the Fourth Commandment, God exhorts us to keep God's Day (the Sabbath) Holy, just as God is Holy. And finally, Jesus Christ is the fullest manifestation of all of the implications of the holiness of the name and attributes of God.

Discussion Reflections: Faithfulness to "hallowing" God's name can be kept by what we pray for, and by what we do with our prayers, i.e., how do we use our prayers. For instance, does our degree of faith allow us to truly believe that those we pray for are safe? Hallowing God's name is more than what we say, but what we think, do, and become-- in relation to the growth of our faith. Hallowing God's name is a sense of feeling free to place our trust in God, and also a sense of the "othemess" of God. We can ask God to guide our words and deeds so that we may do God's Will.

On the history of the process of "naming and the value and prophecy of names, a Japanese- American author whose name means "Tall Tree" wrote that her very wise mother once said, "Name is face to all the world." Thus our relation to God's name can have an effect, both on us and on others as well. In the person and name of Jesus, we see that the isolation, or "otherness" of this holiness was renounced and came to be among us. In balance, we see that God's plan is both transcendant and imminent-- higher than us, and yet close to us.

Introductory Reflection: Do we really want God's Kingdom to come, and if not, why? Is there any reluctance in us that is tied to what we are doing (or what we would like more time to be doing) before this Kingdom comes? What is God's Kingdom, and where is it? How can we be, or become, a part of it? Jesus taught us to focus first on spiritual things rather than on earthly things. This means that nothing should be more important than our relationship with God and