The Name above Every Name (Phil.2:9)
During
the three years of His public life Our Lord Jesus Christ was opposed by
those who did not believe in Him, the “not of God,” who on this
occasion accused Him of having a devil (Jn.8:46-59). The sin of the
Pharisees was Blasphemy, the greatest of sins. Its punishment is
proportionately great. St. Jerome says that compared to blasphemy, every
sin is small.
Even as Jesus was dying on the Cross He was cruelly taunted by those who hated Him:
“Now
the passers-by were jeering at him, shaking their heads, and saying,
‘Thou who destroyest the temple, and in three days buildest it up again,
save thyself! If thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross!’ In
like manner, the chief priests with the Scribes and the elders,
mocking, said, ‘He saved others, himself he cannot save! If he is the
King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will
believe him, He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he wants
him; for he said, “I am the son of God.” (Mt.27:39-43).
On
Mount Sinai God gave Moses the Ten Commandment. The second of these
requires us to have reverence for the Name of God: “You shall not take
the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave
unpunished him who takes his name in vain” (Ex.20:7).
The
punishment for blasphemy under the Old Law was severe: “Anyone who
curses his God shall bear the penalty of his sin; whoever blasphemes the
name of the Lord shall be put to death. The whole community shall stone
him; alien and native alike must be put to death for blaspheming the
Lord’s name” (Lev.24:15,16).
Such
hatred for God’s Divine Son, Jesus Christ, is everywhere today. For the
sin of blasphemy the world will undergo a terrible punishment. But we
have a choice. While the world blasphemes Him, we can praise and adore
Him. While the world attacks Him, we can defend Him. While the world
denies Him, we can affirm Him.
Reverence
for the Holy Name of Jesus must be the mark of the true Catholic. How
could we pretend to believe in Him and love Him if we have the terrible
habit of blaspheming His Holy Name? St. Paul admonishes us as to what
our attitude should be:
“Have
this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who though he was by
nature God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be clung to,
but emptied himself, taking the nature of a slave and being made like
unto men. And appearing in the form of man, he humbled himself, becoming
obedient to death, even to death on a cross. Therefore God also has
exalted him and has bestowed upon him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven,
on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that the
Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” (Phil.2:5-11).
The
Catechism of the Council of Trent seems to speak directly to our time
about this terrible plague of Blasphemy: “…[T]here are not wanting those
who are so blinded by the darkness of error as not to dread to
blaspheme His name, whom the Angels glorify. Men are not deterred by the
Commandment laid down from shamelessly and daringly outraging His
divine Majesty every day, or rather every hour and moment of the day.
Who is ignorant that every assertion is accompanied with an oath and
teems with curses and imprecations? To such lengths has this impiety
been carried, that there is scarcely anyone who buys, or sells, or
transacts business of any sort, without having recourse to swearing, and
who, even in matters the most unimportant and trivial, does not profane
the most holy name of God thousands of times” (p. 382).
Related:
If
every head should bow and every knee should bend at the Name of Jesus,
how can anyone possibly use His Name irreverently? Can we all honestly
say that Jesus is the Lord and King whom we adore? If not, why not? Is
it lack of faith? Does He have no place of honor in your life? For those
who habitually use the Holy Name of Jesus in vain, and are trying to
break the habit, it is necessary to practice the Christian virtues and
grow in holiness. Then we must restore Him to His rightful place as King
and Ruler of all nations. The true Catholic cannot afford even for one
moment to dishonor Jesus Christ our King. Neither can the true Catholic
afford for one moment to dishonor Mary, the Holy Mother of God, our true
Queen and Mother, or any of the saints and holy people of God.
To
lack respect for the Holy Name of the Son is to lack respect for all
three Persons of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Those
who lack reverence for the Three Divine Persons walk a dangerous path.
How sad it is to hear blasphemy even on the lips of children, who learn
to be blasphemers from adults who are themselves blasphemers. They must
be taught to have a profound reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus. We
believe that Jesus is truly present on our altar – Jesus Christ, King of
kings and Lord of Lords. He is the very God who created Heaven and
earth, the planets, the stars, the galaxies, and everything else that
exists.
Those who have the habit of blasphemy and are trying to overcome it, should take courage from these words of St. Paul:
“I
give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because
he counted me trustworthy in making me his minister. For I formerly was a
blasphemer, a persecutor and a bitter adversary; but I obtained the
mercy of God because I acted ignorantly, in unbelief. Indeed, the grace
of our Lord has abounded beyond measure in the faith and love that is in
Christ Jesus. This saying is true and worthy of entire acceptance, that
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the
chief. But for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Christ
Jesus might show forth all patience, as an example to those who shall
believe in him for the attainment of life everlasting. To the King of
the ages, who is immortal, invisible, the one only God, be honor and
glory forever and ever. Amen.
