DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
The Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ Saturday, January 6, 2007
3rd Blessing Waters; 6th
Royal Hour: Isaiah 12:3-6
Epistle: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 Gospel: St. Matthew 3:13-17
The Name of the Lord: Isaiah 12:3-6 LXX, especially vss.
4: “Sing to the Lord, call aloud
upon His Name, proclaim His glorious deeds among the Gentiles; make mention
that His Name is exalted.” St. Peter of Damascus observes that “in both the Old and
the New Testament, the names given are appropriate. Thus Adam was named from the four cardinal points; for the
four letters of his name are the initial letters of the Greek words for East [anatole],
West [dusme], North [apo borra] and South [mesembria],”
and in Hebrew, of course, Adam also means “man.”
Often in Scripture names are changed when God
gives one a new direction in life - as in the case of Jacob being renamed
Israel. Born clutching the heel of
his twin brother Esau, his parents named him Jacob, “he who clutches” (Gen.
25:26 LXX). However, after
wrestling and prevailing with a “man” at a ford in the river Jabbok, Jacob
asked for a blessing from his Opponent.
The answer was: “Thy name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel
shall be thy name; for thou hast prevailed with God, and shalt be mighty with
men” (Gen. 32:28 LXX).
Of course, the most significant Name in
Scripture, “the Name above every name” (Phil. 2:9), is the Name of God the
Lord. Moses, desiring support for
his leadership from the people of Israel, asked God to tell him His Name, to
which God answered, “I AM” or “The One Who Is.” (Ex. 3:14). The form of this name in Hebrew follows
the present tense, first and/or third person, singular, of the verb “to be” -
forms not normally used in Hebrew, being understood: “The tree tall,” for
example, instead of “The tree is tall.”
In the Septuagint version of Ex. 3:14, the Name of God is “O ON,” or
“The One Who Is,” which appears in icons of the Lord Jesus in the letters on
the Cross within the halo around His head. It is heard in the blessing at the end of Vespers, “Christ
our God, the Existing One, is blessed, always; now and ever and unto
ages of ages.”
St. Maximos reminds us that “the Father’s Name
is not something...He has acquired.... He does not have a beginning, so that at
a certain moment He begins to be Father or King, but He is eternal and so is
eternally Father and King.”
Additionally, “the Name of God the Father exists in substantial form in
the eternal, only-begotten Son,” Who teaches us to call God, “Our Father.”
Therefore, when the Prophet directs us to
“call aloud upon His Name” (Is. 12:4 LXX), he shows us our dependency on God, our
incapacity and inability to save ourselves. We are to call on Him Who saves, on Jesus our Lord, Whose
Name means, “Savior” (Mt. 1:21).
We do this pre-eminently in the Jesus Prayer as St. Theophan the Recluse
says, “because it unites the soul with our Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus is
the only door to union with God.”
After all, union with Him is the aim of the prayer and of its continual
usage among Orthodox Christians.
Isaiah tells us to “make mention that His Name
is exalted” (Is. 12:4 LXX). Doing
so insures that God’s name is never taken in in vain (Ex. 20:7), but is uttered
in prayer, worship, or confession of faith: “thank God, God knows, leave it to
God, God forbid, glory to God.”
How blessed to “Sing praise to the Name of the
Lord” (Is. 12:5 LXX), to worship and adore His Holy Name. No wonder Orthodoxy has such a musical
tradition of “a capella” singing, of lifting only the voice in praise to our
Creator and Savior! It is not
important that any one of us be a great musician, but that singing be honored
among us - even for the tone deaf!
St. Romanos the Melodist was illiterate, with no musical training, and
was despised by certain educated clergy, but, through the intercessions of the
Theotokos, he composed more than a thousand of our Kontakia as a Deacon of the
Great Church in Constantinople.
Sing unto the Lord, bless His Name;
proclaim from day to day the good tidings of His salvation. Declare among the nations His glory.” (Ps. 95:2,3 LXX)
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