November 28, 2013 – Catechism 2807 – 2815

Whenever I have said “Hallowed be thy Name”, I have almost always thought of taking the Lord’s name in vain or using it when you shouldn’t.  Reading this, starting in paragraph 2811 when Israel would “profane his name”, by their actions, I thought about our actions taking His name in vain.  And then in paragraph 2814, it basically says that this is what we do when our actions are not following Christ.  We put on Christ by our baptism.  We claim the name Christian by our proclamations.  If we choose to carry the torch of Christ, when we do not follow through, when we act sinfully, we profane his name to those that are watching, we take His name in vain, it is not “hallowed”.  I had never thought of our actions profaning the name of the Lord, but that is exactly how it is put when God speaks of Israel in the Old Testament.  It puts a whole new view on the commandment when you add that interpretation on it.  It is almost an all encompassing commandment, once you make the commitment to be God’s.  Once you choose to be Christ’s, every action, good or bad, reflects Christ to the world.  An action that is sinful is just like saying “God this” or “God that”.  I wonder if it is even worse.  The next time I think about the sin of scandal and where is that in the commandments, here is your answer.  The sin of scandal is exactly like taking the Lord’s name in vain.