“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be (ἁγιασθήτω) Thy name…” (Mt 6: 9)
It’s the first thing we “ask” for, in the Our Father; that God’s name “be hallowed.“ We’re saying, “Let it be” holy. But who is it that we are “asking,” to “let it be” this way? We are asking ourselves, while calling to God as our Witness, to let His “name,” – His “reputation” amongst us, if you will, – not to be tainted by our own projections upon Him, of our own shortcomings and issues (for example, our “daddy issues,” say, of a distant or absent or unreasonably-demanding or otherwise-abusive parent). Because God Himself does not need to be asked to do thus, as He does not stand in the way of His name being hallowed in our world and in our hearts. We do that. Hence “we” need to be asked, and to ask ourselves, as Jesus taught us to do, when He taught us to pray “in this manner,” to “let it be” with God’s “name” according to the “good news” about Him, that He is, indeed, perfectly “holy.”
Today let me not allow any “fake news” about God, our loving Father, create unnecessary distance between Him and me. He does not have “anger issues” with me, nor is He blocking Himself off from me, because of this or that thing that I have done, or have failed to do, in order to hear me. God has already bound Himself to all of us, by the love He has for all of us, both saints and sinners. As St. Paul reminds me, “God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5: 8) So let me approach Him today, as He is, perfectly “holy,” and not as He is not, – some merely-human someone with his own issues. Let me approach God in some simple and heartfelt prayer this morning, letting His name be hallowed, and not sullied, in my heart. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name!” Happy Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent, dear friends! Tune in to our daily, weekday “Morning Coffee” audio-podcasts, for some daily inspiration on your Lenten journey, and through this Coronavirus epidemic! Sign up at: patreon.com/sistervassa. Love from Vienna, Sister Vassa
