Hallowed Be Your Name

I ask you to think of that person in your life whom you deeply respect; that someone you look up to. It could be someone you know – family member, friend, teacher, coach, pastor, or co-worker. Or maybe that person is someone afar – world leader, business leader, celebrity, or athlete. You likely respect them because of what they’ve accomplished or how they conduct their life. This person is not someone simply respected because of who they are, but rather, they have earned your respect.

It is also true that respect is fleeting. I am sure that you can also think of that person whom you deeply respected, only to find out that the person you thought they were was not really who they were. We are a culture that enjoys putting people upon pedestals and sadly also sometimes get satisfaction from watching them fall off that pedestal and shatter into pieces.  

While we honor people for the things they say and do, we are called to honor God simply because He is God. In teaching us how the pray, Jesus starts off his prayer like this – “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9) That word hallowed is not one we typically use in everyday language, yet most modern version of the Bible retain it. It comes from the Greek word hagiazó, and is the passive voice of the verb, meaning “to treat as holy.”

Notice that Jesus does not begin by saying something along the lines of “Our Father in heaven, because You are faithful, because You are trustworthy, may You be honored.” Instead, Jesus acknowledges that the Name of God is hallowed, simply because of who God is. Jesus is saying, “Let your Name be holy.” What name? God’s Divine Name, his Personal Name, the name he revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3. That name is YHWH, Yahweh, or the Latinized name, Jehovah (JeHoWaH).

God’s Name is holy because God is holy, not by what He does but because of who He is. In saying “hallowed by Your name,” Jesus is not referencing God’s reputation. He is instead calling us to recognize God and His Name to be holy, and someone who we can personally address as such, without fear of it being fleeting or temporary reverence.

So, while those people we respect occasionally lose our respect and shatter into pieces, you can forever be assured that God is worthy to be praised, simply because His name is hallowed. There is none like Him.