– a common treasure of Jews and Christians
P. Etienne Richer, community of Blessedness, Dolany near Olomouc
On June 24, 1985, an official church document titled: “Notes on the Proper Representation of Jews and Judaism in the Preaching and Catechesis of the Catholic Church” was published. This fundamental text fully follows up on the declaration of the II Vatican Council regarding the Church's relationship to non-Christian religions – Nostra Aetate states: “If we emphasize the eschatological dimension of Christianity, we will realize more that the people of the Old and New Covenants see similar goals when looking to the future: the coming or return of the Messiah – although this arises from two different perspectives.”
Another, older document, issued at Easter 1973 by the French bishops, also includes a guideline for preachers and catechists: “We will strive to present the mission of this people (the Jewish) as “sanctification of the Name”. This mission makes the life of the Jewish nation a blessing for all nations of the earth.”
Both documents of the Church’s magisterium here call for an awareness of the significance of “sanctifying the Name” in the mission of the Jewish nation and for emphasizing the eschatological dimension of the Good News of Jesus Christ. These two requirements are entirely convergent, as in the Bible there is nothing more eschatological than the revelation of the Name. God reveals His Name always in order to show that He is the Redeemer…
“The purest oil is Your name, therefore the maidens love You,” sings the Bride from the Song of Songs (1:3). Her beautiful song could suffice to make us realize that “the Name” in biblical speech evokes the Bridegroom's presence in the Bride. The divine Name is God Himself, as He reveals Himself. The mission of Israel is to be inhabited by the divine Name, to be permeated by the holy oil of His anointing. If the chosen nation is faithful to its calling, all nations will learn to love this Name, which is above every name, and yearn for it. If God reveals it to Israel (Ex 3, Ex 34), He wants to expose Himself to the risk of community with this freely chosen people, wants to give Himself to the lips of man, his prayer, the whisper of his heart. The Name, Ha Shem, in biblical revelation is much more than a concept or abstract idea. It designates God striving to communicate that He is the Redeemer, that He is the Father of all mercy! “The Name,” explains Father Manaranche, “is not given as an object, but as love to be accepted. It does not come to satisfy curiosity, but to seek trust. It is not intended for knowledge, but for relationship. It guarantees that the relationship is open – so that it can grow… All those in love do just the same: they begin by sharing their names and then exchange addresses so that they can meet again” (André Manaranche: Names for God). The psalmist, who so often praises the Name of God, can therefore exclaim: “With joy, they will praise you, those who love your Name” (Ps 5).
Already in the book of Exodus, God entrusts His Name to show that He is the Savior. In the burning bush, He reveals it to Moses after calling him to lead the people out of Egypt (Ex 3). After the episode with the golden calf, God descended on Sinai in a cloud. Moses remains with Him. He calls on His Name and the Lord comes, ceremonially introducing Himself, and thus gloriously renewing the broken covenant: “The Lord, a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:5–6).
The High Priest uttered the Name of God in the Holy of Holies during the Temple period only on Yom Kippur, that is, on the Day of Atonement. The prayer of Israel calls upon God as the Redeemer. In the invocation of the Name in prayers for forgiveness, we find it throughout the history of the chosen people. Let us listen to the prophets: “After all, you are our Father! Abraham does not know us; Israel does not acknowledge us. Lord, you are our Father, our Redeemer from of old; this is your name” (Isa 63:16); “everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 3:5). We see, therefore, why Peter could say at his encounter with Cornelius: “All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His Name” (Acts 10:43). Pope John Paul II wrote in the encyclical Dives in Misericordia: “Mercy not only belongs to the very concept of God, but it also marks the life of the entire Jewish nation and the individual sons and daughters. It is the content of their fervent closeness to their Lord, the content of their conversation with Him…” – for His Name is endless mercy!
This mystery of the Name, so dear to our Jewish brothers, should not be any less dear to us Christians. The Incarnation of the Word is the incarnation of the Name. The Name of God dwelled in the cloud pillar, in the Tent of Meeting, and later in the Temple, so that the Israelites could invoke Him. However, in order for salvation to come, this Name must draw closer to our corporeality even more, to the utmost: by dwelling in it. The sanctification of the Name (Kiddush HaShem), this mission of the Jewish nation to whom the Name was revealed, was not annulled by Christ, but fulfilled. The Name Jesus means: “I am the one who saves you.” In Jesus, the revelation of the Name – and thus the revelation of mercy – is completed!
The “Name” was undoubtedly a common designation of the Savior in the early Church. This is also evidenced by the Acts of the Apostles. And the first Christians called themselves, in contrast to the pagans, worshippers of false gods: “those who invoke the Name of the Lord.” This phrase, very abundant in the First Covenant and Jewish tradition, ultimately designates the very Christian identity. To enable this, God had previously proclaimed through the prophet Joel: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people… everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 3:1). In the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, Peter uses these verses from Joel to show that the eschatological age is already here, that the Spirit is given to all, that the Name of the Lord can now be called upon by everyone, and that the Lord, whose Name is to be invoked, is the risen Jesus.
At the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Paul greets the Christians as those who “call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:2), and a few chapters later, he states: “No one can say that Jesus is Lord (that is, that He Himself is the Name), except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3). We can thus see how valuable the biblical theology of the Name is for understanding the New Testament.
Let us go through the Acts of the Apostles: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12); for this Name, the apostles suffer insults (Acts 5:41), in it, the believers are baptized, this Name is invoked, and Paul, who “once thought he had to do all this to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:9), while on his apostolic journeys learned that one cannot carry His Name to the nations without experiencing much suffering (see Acts 9:15–16). Each verse reflects the preaching, catechesis, and liturgy of the early Church, all the more precious as it is evidently deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition.
If the disciples of the Risen One, those from the Acts of the Apostles, as well as those today and in the future, can invoke His Name, it is because they have become, Jews and Gentiles alike, members of His body, “a people of His Name” (Acts 15:14), that is, a people dedicated to His mercy, which they must live and testify to. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9).
The beast*, an enemy of God, has no name but a number. The beast is a number and transforms humanity into a number, which a certain author calls “the man of quantity”**. But God presents Himself to Moses by name and also calls him by name. That is why Jesus, the “new Moses” and high priest of the new Covenant, can pray: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name that you gave me” (John 17:11), Father of all mercy, hallowed be your Name, receive us in your fatherly love, for we are your children… “... for the glory of your name, deliver us…” (Ps 79).
*) The beast that comes up from the abyss (Rev 11:7): Emperor Nero (editor's note).
**) a man of the human mass (crowd) (editor's note)
