Hallowed be Thy Name. When Moses encountered God in the burning bush and was sent to the children of Israel to tell them that God had heard their cries, he was left with something of a problem: Who would believe him and why? Thus, hoping for some credibility, Moses asked God, “And who shall I say sent me? What is your name?” God then gives Moses an answer, but a rather enigmatic one: “I AM WHO I AM. Tell them, I AM has sent me to you.”
Names, both human and divine, have significance and are intimately related to identity. It is believed by some that knowing another’s name gives the knower a certain power over the one named. In some cultures, people will not reveal their ‘real’ names for this very reason, or because the ‘real’ name must be kept secret, or known only by a few, because it is revelatory of the individual’s very essence, which is considered sacred. In some cultures the real name is known only to the individual and God. “…and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it (Rev. 2:17).”
That God has chosen to reveal God’s name to humankind is awesome. Someone once wrote that God’s name is not ‘God’. And that is true. The word ‘God’ is merely a placeholder for the name of God, which from the earliest of times has been regarded as holy and sacred—so much so, that the name of God revealed to Moses was not to be spoken. In both the Judeo-Christian tradition and the Islamic tradition, there are a multitude of names of God. God has bestowed upon us a great honor in revealing the holy name, therefore we pray that this name be held holy—always and everywhere respected, honored, and reverenced.
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