You Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord Your God in Vain

It command reverence for Gods Holy name which represents God Himself We fulfill this Commandment positively everytime we repeat the prophet Isaiahs text in the Eucharistic acclamation: Holy, holy, holy, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are fiull of your glory

It seems for many the commandment is concerned only with forbidding using Gods or Jesus name in anger, or condemning all coarse, vulgar speech and profanity as degrading for professed disciples of Jesus Christ. More technically, it means rejecting blasphemy, cursing, and taking false oaths.

The name held a special importance and power The name stood for the person; the name made the person present and active. Gods name was conceived as the presence, the shekinah, of God himself. When the name was truly spoken, when Gods word was remembered, then God was really present and speaking through his remembered word. So the name of God was Gods gift to His covenant people. To swear falsely, using Gods name was to break the covenant.

It was believed that knowing the name of someone gave power over that person. Jesus played on that common belief when expelling unclean spirits in the territory of the Gerasenes. The phrase name in vain meant more than coarse language. Originally, it referred to using Gods name in sorcery, invoking curses on other and conjuring up evil spirits, or claiming the power inherent in Gods personal name to do harm to others. In view of this Biblical understanding of the name, then, using the name of God in vain was equivalent to refusing to follow and obey God, even trying to manipulate the power of His name for ones own benefit and to do evil to others

Gods naming of Himself was an act of revelation. Through this name God expressed His eternal self-sufficient uniqueness, His lordship over historys temporal sequence of past, present and future, in a saving, liberating presence.

In the Gospels we have Gods definitive selfrevelation as Father, Son, and Spirit [the Blessed Trinity], through Jesus Christ. As the Word of God made flesh, Jesus revealed:
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God as Father himself as the only Son of the Father, and their Holy Spirit whom he would send from the Father

We are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We are received into the Body of Christ, the Church, graced with the Holy Spirit, and given our own Christian names. Thus, we are drawn into the communion of the Triune God as sons/daughters of the Father, through our brother, in the indwelling Holy Spirit, in the Christian Community, the Church

We are taught to begin our prayer in Gods name with the Sign of the Cross which expresses the names of the Most Blessed Trinity, and reminds us of the power of the redeeming death of Jesus. We learned to pray holy be your name in the Lords Prayer And we hear in each of the Churchs Eucharistic Prayers how God is praised and thanked.

The Second Commandment becomes very applicable, both in regard to lack of reverence for Gods name, and lack of respect for their fellow human persons.

In reverence for God, oaths and vows are made on solemn occasions like baptisms, marriages, or priestly ordinations. To be Holy, they should not be made for trivial purposes, nor entered into rashly, but must be truthful and enduring. Regarding respect for others, sometimes religion itself is misused, either in frightening people with threats of eternal punishment, or enticing them with calls for superficial, emotionally-laden conversions.

Both are a misuse of power in the name of God. Religion should never be a tool for frightening people, nor a palliative promising joy without substance, love and forgiveness without demands.

Diokno, Anne Lorraine Ejercito, Khristine Jane Hilario, Jessie Josuah

Section 2E 2012 2013