Today’s reading is one of my absolute favorite passages from the Old Testament. Particularly in my days as a borderline-atheist philosophy student, God’s response to Moses really knocked me over like a brick. Kind of like the soldiers who fell to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane at Jesus’, ‘I AM. ’(John 18:6). Those academics try to say that God is contained within the box of religion, that God can’t talk philosophy with them. If they ever bothered asking Him, they might begin to think differently.
“I AM.” (Exodus 3:14). Being, existence itself, ever present. “All things came to be through Him, and without Him, nothing came to be.” (John 1:3). It just knocks my socks off every time. I could curl up and rest in the infinite daydreams that come from contemplating this ever-expansive I AM forever. I hope I get to one day.
His name is so beautiful, so good, so powerful, but we hear it tossed around like a hot potato. Whether it’s while I’m trying to watch an action/hero film or catching someone off guard in the grocery store, I hear our Lord’s name abused, degraded, and trampled upon. We know that blasphemy is wrong because of the Law of Moses and because of our trusty catechisms, but do we really understand why we shouldn’t just not do it, but actively fight against it?
Names Are Intimate
There’s a reason we called our teachers ‘Mr. ’and ‘Mrs. ’when we were growing up. Just like there’s a reason you didn’t want everyone in school to know your middle name. There’s a reason a lover blushes at the name of his beloved. And there’s a reason you want to make an effort to remember that person’s name from Bible Study, even though you’ve already had to ask them three times. Names are intimate. They indicate a level of familiarity. They also reveal a deeper part of who we are. When God gave Moses His name, it was after five hundred plus years of Abraham and his descendants simply referring to Him as ‘the Lord’. God was asking for more trust in what He was about to do for the Israelites. And more trust from Moses who was to lead them. So He condescends to make Himself more vulnerable, to reveal His name. Trust me, I got this, I AM.
A Response
At first, we, His people, responded to this intimacy with an insane amount of reverence. Yahweh’s name (the somewhat indirect translation of ‘I AM’) was never uttered, even in the synagogue. It was kept so precious, so sacred that it was almost entirely hidden. I’m not suggesting we necessarily go back to that. Yet it helps to see more the stark contrast of today. People who have no relationship with God, who don’t even believe in God, call out His name as a curse. Even people who do claim to know Him, even love Him, throw out His name willy nilly for rhetorical effect. The Heart of the God who is thirsting for intimacy with His people is crushed every time His name is called upon with no intention of hearing from Him. It should stab us in the heart too. We should hate blasphemy, with a fierce hatred, just like all sin, because it hurts the one we love. But we have become numb to it. We are willing to make excuses for the sake of entertainment. Or, fear of ‘offending ’someone else, someone who deserves much more offense than I AM Himself.
Names Are Powerful
There’s yet another reason we ought to be careful with our Lord’s name. When a couple is dating, there is a significant shift when they start calling each other ‘boyfriend ’or ‘girlfriend’. When we name our children, we are careful to give them a name that we want them to live up to. In exorcisms, discovering the name of a particular demon can grant the exorcist more authority over it. Names have power.
Whether it’s saying ‘God ’or ‘Jesus’, both of these, on their own, are prayers. The name of Jesus alone has the authority to cast out demons, to heal decades of disease, to grant salvation. However, I believe we weaken this power, not objectively, but subjectively, the more we use it and the more we hear it used as a mere exclamation. From our Lord’s rebuke of His disciples inability to free a possessed boy in Matthew 17, it is clear that our own power is directly related to our level of faith. If we are constantly calling out for God with no intention of asking Him for help, or even just hearing other people do so, this can damage our ability to call on Him for real, when we really need to, or even confuse ourselves if we are really calling out to God or just simply taken by surprise. Names have power, but God in His wisdom allows us to diminish the power granted to us. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord, ’will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Well, certainly not those who say ‘Lord, Lord, ’and don’t really mean it.
Some Suggestions
In order to love our Lord more by loving His name, in order to make reparation for all the ignorant blasphemies uttered against Him, even to avoid falling into the sin of blasphemy ourselves, there are resources. VidAngel is a streaming service that filters movies on other streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, so that you can tailor the content you are watching, filtering not just profane use of our Lord’s name, but nudity, levels of violence, etc. Plugged In is a website that gives extensive details on the instances of profane language, violence, sexuality, etc. in films so that you can make the call ahead of time if it’s just not worth watching at the expense of our King’s honor. Lastly, you can employ some of the Divine Praises when you hear an abusive phrase in the language of friends, family members, or even strangers. Some might just think someone sneezed. Others might be offended that you are offended. Others might think nothing of it, aside from your hyperactive piety, at first, but later walk away thinking a little more critically about what they are really truly saying and Who they are really calling upon.
May we bask in the joy of knowing and loving His name today and always, and may we rise up to the challenge to fight blasphemy with a vengeance, for the glory of His name, literally.
