Hallowed? What's that?
A weird phrase that really has no modern equivalent
Photo by Carlo Alberto Burato on Unsplash
“Hallowed be your name” is a part of The Lord’s Prayer that kind of freaks people out.
It is, by far, the most old-fashioned phrase in there and it makes people feel a little strange because…well, because the word isn’t used often anymore and it reminds them of Halloween, which isn’t what comes to mind when you think of church-y stuff.
A simple definition is that if something is “hallowed” it means it is sacred.
And “sacred” means that it is considered holy or special for religious or spiritual reasons.
And “holy” means that it is set apart or, as I like to say, Other. (with a capital “o”)
By Other, I mean that it is, in this case, God is, on a completely different level of existence, reality, etc. from what we can know and experience.
God is the most different mode of being and existence from us than we can really imagine…
…and yet…when we are told to pray in this way…
We are called to remember that this is true, that God is wholly Other from us, but also that God is “Our Father.”
These two things are in such opposition to one another…but completely and totally true at the very core of who we are and who God is.
And it is this mystery we live in…this balance of understanding God is our perfect father figure but also an entity we cannot hope to comprehend this side of creation (but that’s a topic for another day).
Jesus tells us to pray like this to be reminded that we are to understand, value, and reflect on this nature of God every time we pray.
Relationship and Othership.
Mystery.
Unkown and knowable.
My prayer for today
Our Father, it is terrifying to wrap my head around a God who exists wanting deep relationship with me but also is so different from me. I don’t pretend to know what that means, but I ask you to help me understand this mystery in my bones, in the deepest part of my being. Amen.
Remember
When we pray, we do so before the originator and creator of the entire universe, known and unknown. Give God some praise and glory for something outside the realm of your understanding today. Don’t be afraid to…be afraid at what you don’t understand, can’t understand. And pray knowing that God knows, understands, and works within the knowable and unknowable.