"Hallowed… Huh?"
Vicar Dan Marggraf
March 12, 2014
Sometimes when I’m watching a sports game on TV, before
cutting to commercial the announcer will say, “Don’t turn that dial!”
I wonder if anybody born in this century has any idea what that
means. Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “He’s worth his salt.”
What? Worth his salt? We know that is a good thing to say about
somebody, but what does salt have to do with it?
Expressions like these have found their way into our
everyday speech, even though they are outdated and sometimes
completely incomprehensible. A dial on your TV used to be a
common thing, but, tell me, who still changes TV channels with a
dial? 2000 years ago, salt was a very valuable commodity. In fact,
people would sometimes be paid in salt, but, today, the phrase,
“Worth his salt,” doesn’t make any sense, because salt isn’t all that
valuable.
Certain phrases and certain words become outdated over
time, and their meaning can become obscure. I wonder if that hasn’t
happened to the petition of the Lord’s Prayer that we consider today,
“Hallowed be thy name.” What on earth does it mean to “hallow”?
What are we praying for when we say, “Hallowed be thy name”?
“Hallow” comes to us from the German language, and it
means, basically, to “treat something as holy” or to “greatly respect”
something. So, when we pray to our Father in heaven, “Hallowed be
thy name,” what we’re really praying is, “Let your name be greatly
respected.” We’re praying that the world around us would recognize
the greatness of our God. We’re praying that everything we do here
on earth, whether in thought, word, or deed, would contribute to the
respect and reverence our almighty God deserves.
As you live your lives, as you go through your day, is this
prayer on your heart and mind? Is the thought of treating God’s
name as something that is to be holy, something that is to be
respected, tattooed on your soul?
Well, consider first the words you say. In this prayer we pray
that God’s name be treated as holy. Do you find yourself treating that
actual name respectfully, or is it just another word in your
vocabulary?
It’s interesting, and sad at the same time, but it seems like, no
matter what language you consider, God’s name is used in a very
dishonorable, undignified way. I just finished a novel that took place
in France. Whenever one of the characters was surprised by a clever
plot twist, they cried out, “Par la mort Dieu!,” meaning, “By the death
of God!”
This lack of respect for God’s name is common among us, too.
Everyday speech is peppered with phrases like, “Oh, my God!” or,
“For God’s sake!” The one that most grates on my ears is when
someone is disappointed or disgusted by something and they just
say, “Jesus Christ!” Since when did the name of our Savior become
synonymous with disappointment? Why has our Redeemer’s name
come to express disgust?
Now, I know that when Christians use this language, their
intention is not to dishonor their God. And it seems so harmless,
doesn’t it? What are a few words here and there? They’re just
words, after all.
Are they just words? Well, let me ask you, when God said,
“Let there be light,” were those just words? When God said, “Let the
land produce living creatures,” were those just words? When Christ
hung from the cross; when he literally suffered hell; when he said, “It
is finished,” were those just words? No, they were words of love;
words of mercy; words of power.
Friends, your words have power in them, too. No, you can’t
call light into being; your words can’t create animals, but your words
do have the power to reflect the message in your heart. What do you
want that message to be? Do you want it to say that God’s name is
something trivial to you? Do you want it to say that the name of the
God who saved us from eternal wrath is best used to make your cries
of surprise and disgust sound more interesting? Is that the message
you want to send to those who hear you? Is that the message you
want God to hear?
See, God wants us to hallow his name, he wants us to greatly
respect his name by using it as something good, not as something
that is meaningless or disrespectful. God says, “Call upon me in the
day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Ps 50:15).
Use God’s name to seek deliverance, not to express disgust or
loathing. King David writes, “I will praise God’s name in song and
glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord” (Ps 69:30).
Use God’s name to praise him, not to express surprise.
Now, we’ve been talking about how we can hallow God’s
name; how we can treat God’s name as holy. We’ve been talking
about God’s name as a word that comes from our lips, but God’s
name is so much more than just the letters that comprise it; it’s so
much more than the sound that our vocal cords produce. God’s
name is who he is; it’s everything he has revealed to us about himself
in his word; it’s what he stands for; it’s his holy and perfect will.
So, you see, then, when we pray, “Hallowed by thy name,” we
are not only praying that God be honored in the words we speak, but
in the things we do, as well. Really, we’re praying for strength to
treat God’s name as holy. We’re praying for the will of God to be
seen in our lives, so that all may see it, so that all may honor God’s
name.
And, friends, when you pray this, realize, “Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks find,
and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Mt 7:7-8). Pray
that your thoughts, words, and deeds will hallow God’s name, and he
will answer this prayer with a resounding, “Yes!”
Why am I urging you so strongly to treat God’s name as holy?
Why have I spent the last 5 or 10 minutes (I’m sure someone is
keeping track) speaking about how we dishonor God’s name, and
how we use it properly? Well, to put it simply, it’s because we have a
God worth honoring. We have a God whose name is worth treating
with respect.
Why? Well, consider some of those great figures of history
whose names we respect. We respect those Pharaohs of Egypt,
because they built the mighty pyramids with primitive,
unsophisticated technology. We respect Alexander the Great
because he conquered numerous peoples and nations, extending the
borders of his empire farther than ever thought imaginable. We
respect Gandhi because, to some, he epitomized the idea of loving
your neighbor.
For these same reasons and for so much more we respect
and honor the name of our great God. Yes, the pharaohs built the
pyramids, but God built all that exists in heaven and on earth with
but the words of his mouth, so we honor his name with the words
from ours. Yes, Alexander the Great conquered armies of flesh and
bone, but God conquered the armies of sin and death, so we honor
his name by fighting back against Satan and his many temptations.
Yes, Gandhi showed great love to his fellow man, but God loved all
men by sending his Son to die on a cross, so we honor his name by
everyday mirroring that selfless love.
Whose name do we seek to glorify with our lives? Whose
name do we seek to honor? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed
by your name.
Not unto us, not unto us be glory, Lord;
Not unto us but to your name be praise;
Not unto us but to your name all honor be giv’n
For matchless mercy, forgiveness, and grace.