The command to use God's name in the way it is intended requires an understanding of the use of a person's name. Names are handy tools for communicating with each other. When you know someone's name you have a handle—a way of getting hold of him or her. You can call on that person to share something good that has happened. You can ask a person with knowledge for useful information. You can use someone's name to get help in times of trouble. With a name, there is something to call out.
What's more, when others let you know their names, you receive something sacred. For when you know a person's name, you get access to a piece of that person's identity. Old Testament names tell you a lot about the person: Jacob means "cheater" and Samuel means "he belongs to God."
God's name is not something to be taken lightly. When you know God's name, you possess a way to approach God for everything you need; you've received the intimacy of God's name to treasure. When you're invited to use God's name, God tells you how deeply God wants to be connected to you.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us we don't need to swear by God's name at all. We ought to live such upstanding lives that when we speak others will already know we're people who tell the truth. So Jesus says, "Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'" (Matthew 5:37).
Taking God's name in vain is therefore about identity theft. We see plenty of warnings on television about being careful not to let others know our credit card or Social Security numbers. Once others know our personal information, all kinds of damage can be done. We're all aware of how our names can be used for ill by others.
But God isn't scared of letting a little divine personal information loose on the world. God knows the immeasurable good that comes from giving God's name to us. Because our God is merciful and abounding in steadfast love, God wants it broadcast. Even so, God knows that for sinners a little information can be a bad thing.
Human beings have a way of using God's name in ways it wasn't intended. We often acknowledge the power of the God of the First Commandment and then try to identify ourselves with that power to make ourselves look bigger. Or we use God's name to camouflage our own misdeeds. We swear by God's name even when we know our words are not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Even worse, we use God's name as nothing more than a punctuation mark when we're excited, surprised, or awed.
In the Large Catechism, Martin Luther included false preachers among those who take God's name in vain. Any preacher who uses God's Word to manipulate others and trouble their consciences, or who doesn't proclaim our full freedom in Christ, takes God's name in vain. When a preacher speaks human wisdom and advice and presents it as God's wisdom and will, even though it might be well-intended good advice, it's still using God's name in a way for which it wasn't intended. This, again, is identity theft of the worst sort.
Thus, we ought to be watchful. Just because God's name is used to defend a practice or a point of view, it doesn't necessarily mean that view is the truth. So when we hear someone preaching in God's name we should ask some questions: Does this word forgive sinners fully and freely? Did Jesus have to die for this to be preached? If we can answer yes, then God's name is being honored and respected.
The law demands we shouldn't vainly use God's name to "curse, swear, practice magic, lie, or deceive" (Small Catechism). It also encourages ways to use God's name properly. We receive God's name as a gift.
With God's name in our possession, we can approach God just as Luther described: "We believe he is truly our Father and we are truly his children, in order that we may ask him boldly and with complete confidence, just as loving children ask their loving father" (Small Catechism).
There are many ways we can call on God. We can use God's name to ask for help when we're in a tight spot. We can use God's name to pray for both friends and enemies. We can use it to praise God for the way we see God's hand at work in creation. We can use God's name in thanksgiving for Christ's benefits: for the forgiveness of sins, for unending mercy, for the hope and promise of eternal life. We can even dare to use it to proclaim that same mercy to other sinners. God expects nothing less of us.
In our culture it is common to misuse and abuse God's name. Most often this happens without conscious thought. You can choose the words you use. Pick words that are pleasing and acceptable to God. Our names are an important part of who we are. Names establish identity. How do you feel when your name is ridiculed or abused. How do you think God feels.
L: The name of the Lord is a strong tower,
C: the righteous run into it and are safe.
L: The Lord is a stronghold in times of trouble.
C: Those who know your name put their trust in you; for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
L: O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
C: make known his deeds among the peoples.
Share a time in your own life when your name was abused and a time when your name was praised or spoken in love.
How did you feel about yourself in each instance?
About the other(s)?
How was your relationship with the other(s) affected by the names you used with each other?
What do these names signify (do they convey identity, relationship, authority, recognition)?
God's name shows up in a lot of places. From yellow page ads and store signs to cheesy gifts and business cards, the Creator of all that exists gets associated with products and services of all types.
Name some ways God's name is used in everyday life.
What happens to the power of God's name when it is used inappropriately?
How can you use God's name respectfully and reverently this week.
What do you know about the Holy Trinity.
Name the three persons as they are most often referred to.
How does each name represent a component of the one God?
What other names are sometimes used for this person?
Name places or times where you have heard the names of the Holy Trinity.
Write the three names that help you understand the fullness of the Trinity the best and write a list of places where you have heard about the Trinity.
What's all the fuss about identity theft? A large part of it has to do with money—someone stealing both the money you have and your right to spend more than you have, on credit. But identity theft is more than money theft; it hands your name over to someone else who damages it in ways that are almost impossible for you to repair. Name-handling is all about power!
Tell about times when you did not want to tell someone your names.
What were you concerned about?
Open the Catechism to the Second Commandment and read it with its meaning. In this kind of identity theft we are the thieves, and we are the ones who lose out. We can't do any damage to God's name, of course, but by trying to, we damage ourselves. God encourages us to use his name for respectful activities, such as praise, thanks, and prayer. But using God's name for evil purposes? No way!
Read Exodus 20:7 aloud to find out how the courtroom scene will go for the one who disrespects the divine name. Take an index card, cut to credit card size. Sign God's name on one side, decorate the other side as you wish, and keep this cards in a wallet or backpack. Whenever you hear God's name misused, the card can remind you to pray that God will forgive both the speaker and the hearers.
Open to Exodus 3:13-15, and read aloud. Find the two names for God: "I am who I am" and "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Knowing God's name helps us to identify and recognize God, and to understand God's relationship with us. At the time of this story, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt; so, hearing that God is the same God of their free ancestors was very meaningful to them. God identified with past actions and relationships to claim a hopeful and meaningful name in the present.
Open Bibles to Matthew 6:9 and read aloud. When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, he names God as Father (another very relational title), and says God's name should be hallowed. Write the word hallowed on paper and draw or write what you think it means. In the original Greek the verb for "hallowed be" implies continuous ongoing action, so we are really praying that we keep on hallowing God's name. Martin Luther was on to this meaning, which is why his Small Catechism says of this petition, "God's name is certainly holy in itself, but we ask in this prayer that it may also become holy in and among us".
What might this look like?
Can you describe in words how we "keep God's name holy"?
Can you draw this meaning of "hallowed."
Think of this meaning the next time they say the Lord's Prayer.
Turn to Isaiah 43:1-7, and read. God is given several names here ("the Lord your God," "the Holy One of Israel," "your Savior"), along with descriptors ("he who created you," "he who formed you"). Think about what each title for God might mean. God identifies with past actions and relationships to claim a hopeful and meaningful name in the present. We are also comforted by the fact that this relationship goes both ways: we not only know and call on God's name, but God knows and calls each of us by our own names.
Turn to Acts 19:13-20, and read aloud. In this passage some sorcerers try to use Jesus' name in a magical, superstitious way, but it backfires. The sorcerers do not know Jesus, thus they do not have the power of his name, even if they speak it. Contrast this to interactions in the gospels, where Jesus casts out demons by their names. Note how God is able to transform the situation, turning the abuse of Jesus' name into an occasion for God's word to grow stronger and create even more praise of Jesus' name.
What kind of names/nicknames are you known by among family and friends?
What kinds of names/nicknames are you known by among enemies?
Tell about a time when you did not hallow God's name but abused it. Were there consequences?
What kinds of names is God known by among friends and family? What kinds of names is God known by among enemies? Which type of names do you think God prefers being known by? Why?
Why did God give us so many names to be known by?
What is God's purpose in revealing a name to us?
Is misusing God's name a form of "identity theft"? Why or why not?
L: We give you thanks with our whole hearts, Holy God,
C: for sharing your name with us, a name we can trust and call on in times of joy and sorrow.
L: We give you praise with our whole hearts, Holy Christ,
C: for knowing our names, for claiming us by name in our baptisms and making us your own.
L: We pray for guidance with our whole hearts, Holy Spirit,
C: that you give us strength to go now from this place and share your name and the good news of God's wonderful deeds with others. Amen
Closing Blessing
L: May the God who calls you by name be the name you call on in praise and prayer. In the name of the Father +, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit +. Amen
Big Fun Idea
Do something creative to express the meaning of either your name or one of God's names—draw a picture, sculpt a statue, write a poem, construct with interlocking blocks, paste a collage, and so forth. Bring your work to class the next week and create a "gallery" in your church. Run the "Names" exhibit for a month, and invite the whole congregation to attend!
Big Serving Idea
Go through the church directory and pick out five "forgotten" names—members who, for whatever reason, you haven't seen at church for a while. Make and send them a card to bless and brighten their day.