Collect of the Day
Grant to your people,
Lord, grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the
devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only true God; through
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm Lessons
34:15-22
Isaiah 55:6-11 Matthew 6:7-15
Pray
then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:9
Names are important. How many of us,
when naming our children, chose names of people we loved or admired and shied
away from names of those we disliked? A person’s name can be associated with
specific traits. We expect a boy named Alabama to be better at sports than one
named Francis. In Great Britain the names of royals, Elizabeth and James, are
linked with intelligence and success. And as our names are given to us before
the formation of our personality they effect the person we become as an adult.
Imagine yourself with a different name. Would you be the same person?
The Hebrew people had many names for
God. There was Elohim- the strong creator God, Jehovah, the self-existing one,
Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God. God was called jealous, faithful, and mighty. God
was a protector. But Jesus had a new name for God. He called God “Father”, and
invited us to do the same, instructing us to pray to “God, Our Father”. Think
about how radical of a change that is. Instead of praying to our Lord and
Protector, a distant and mighty God, we pray to Our Father. We are in a loving
relationship with Our Father. Our Father will protect us and answer our prayers
because we are cared for and cherished. Something as simple as a change in name
transformed our relationship with the Creator.
Lent is a great time to remember our
name. When Jesus invited us to call God, Our Father, were adopted into his
family and given the new name, Christian. It’s time we live up to it.
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