No one is like you, LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. – Jeremiah 10:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 28, 2017): Jeremiah 10

Mercurius was born in Rome in the year 470 C.E. He chose a life in the church and quickly rose to the office of priest at the Basilica di San Clemente, a minor Basilica that had been dedicated to Pope Clement I and located in Rome. We know very little about the life or the ministry of Mercurius except that on January 2, 533 C.E. Mercurius rose to become the Bishop of Rome, a title that is more commonly known by another name – the Pope or Holy Father of the Roman Catholic Church. But Mercurius’ rise to the office of Pope presented him with an uncomfortable problem – his name. Mercurius, the name that his parents had given him at birth honored the god Mercury. Mercurius felt that the name was inappropriate for the Bishop of Rome to bear. And so Mercurius did what has become commonplace in modern times, but had never been done before the time Mercurius – he was the first Pope to change his name. The name that he chose was Pope John II. It is likely that the name was chosen in honor of Pope John I who had unjustly died in prison of neglect six and a half years earlier. After all, John I deserved to be remembered and to be remembered as an honest Pope. And to die in the service of the church was probably something with which Mercurius was okay.

Jeremiah reminds the people of Judah two things as the nation continues to walk away from God. The first is that the name of God deserved to be remembered – and the second is that there is power in that name. In the years that were to come, the people were going to have to know that – and learn to trust in the power of the name of God.

The name of God has been carefully guarded throughout history. Oh, there have been many descriptive names that he has been called– Elohim (God of Power), Jehovah-Shalom (God of Peace) or El-Shaddai (God of the Mountains or God Almighty) to name but a few. More commonly he was Adonai (Lord), or God, or Allah (which when stripped of it Islamic connection just means ‘God’) But the name of God – Yahweh (YHWH) – is seldom used. It is just too sacred – and too powerful. Jewish law required that a sheet of paper that had that name written on it must be preserved - forever. Warnings are often placed at the top of computer pages that contain the name not to print the page, or be willing to safeguard that page for the rest of your life.

In our time, the word God is often just thrown around carelessly. It is a practice that would cause our ancestors to shake in fear. The name of God is still a name of power that needs to be honored because it belongs to the Creator of the Universe. That power is something that we should maybe consider before we throw the name of power around loosely. We need to remember who it is that we are calling when we say his name – and remember the power and the promise that is contained in that name, as well as the respect that the name has garnered throughout the generations.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 1