Pope at general audience: taking
upon ourselves the name of God
At his General Audience of August 22, Pope Francis reflected
on the Second Commandment – “You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your
God, in vain.”
By Robin Gomes
"You shall not invoke the name of the Lord,
your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone
who invokes his name in vain" (Ex 20,7).
Pope Francis dedicated his catechesis of this week’s
Wednesday’s general audience to the second commandment, saying it is an
“invitation not to offend the name of God and to avoid using it
inappropriately.”
The translation of the expression, "You shall not
invoke”, in Hebrew as well as in Greek literally means, “you will not take upon
yourself, you will not assume ".
The expression “in vain” is clearer and means, “uselessly,
vainly”. It refers to an empty shell, a form without content. It is hypocrisy,
formality, a lie.
Knowing God changes life
The name in the Bible, the Pope explained, is the intimate
truth of things and especially of people, often representing a mission.
Thus Abraham in the Book of Genesis and Simon Peter
in the Gospel receive a new name to indicate the change in direction in their
lives. Knowing truly the name of God leads to the transformation of one's
life, like the moment Moses came to know the name of God his
history changed.
Explaining a Jewish ritual, the Pope said
that the name of God is solemnly proclaimed on the Great Day of
Forgiveness, and the people are forgiven because through the name they come
into contact with the very life of God who is mercy.
Thus "taking upon oneself the name of God ", the
Pope said, means taking upon ourselves His reality, entering into a strong
relationship, close to Him. For us Christians, he continued, this
commandment is a call to remind ourselves that we are baptized "in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", as we affirm
every time we make the sign of the cross upon ourselves, in order to live our
daily actions in heartfelt and real communion with God, that is, in his love.
Hypocrisy
One can ask oneself, “Is it possible to take upon oneself
the name of God in a hypocritical way, like a formality, uselessly?”
Unfortunately, the Pope said, the answer is positive: yes one can.
One can live a false relationship with God, and this Word of the Ten
Commandments is precisely the invitation to a relationship with God without any
hypocrisy, a relationship in which we entrust ourselves to Him with all that we
are. Unless we risk living with the Lord, touching with our hand the life
that is in Him, it will only be theory.
The Pope said that Christianity touches the heart. The
saints are so capable of touching the heart because in them we see what our
hearts deeply desire: authenticity, true relationships, “radicality”. The Pope
said this is also what we see in the "saints next door", such as
parents who give their children the example of a coherent, simple, honest and
generous life.
Christian life manifests God's name
If the number of Christians who take upon themselves the
name of God without falsehood were to grow by practising the first request of
the Our Father prayer, "Hallowed be Thy name", the Pope
pointed out, then the proclamation of the Church would be more heard and
credible. If our concrete life manifests the name of God, he said, we will see
how beautiful Baptism is and the great gift the Eucharist is,
and what a sublime union there is between our body and the Body of
Christ - He in us and we in Him!
From cross of Christ, no one can ever despise
himself and think badly about one’s own existence, no matter what one has done.
The name of each of us is on the shoulders of Christ. The Pope said, it
is worth taking upon ourselves the name of God because He took upon Himself our
name to the end, including the evil in us, to put His love in our
hearts. That is why, the Holy father said, in this commandment God
proclaims: "Take me upon yourself, for I have taken you upon me.”
The Pope said that anyone in whatever situation can invoke
the holy name of the Lord, who is faithful and merciful Love.
God never says “no” to a heart that sincerely invokes Him, the Pope added.
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