Worthy of the Name

1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 

Dear Holy One,
as Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote
with thanksgiving and joy
to the church in Thessalonica
so long ago,
we write in hope for ourselves:

May we be a people
mentioned in the prayers of others,
remembered before you
as faithful, loving, steadfast
in hope in Jesus the Christ;
may we be siblings known
to our kin in Christ as
beloved of Holy One, showing
in our way of being that we have chosen
to follow You, through what kind
of people we prove to be.

May we be imitators of Christ
and the faithful saints gone before;
courageous under attack and temptation,
inspired by the Holy Spirit,
an example to other members
of your Body – may our
commitment to You be known
by all, our welcome of all,
our resistance to this world’s idols,
our love for Christ who rescues –

Dear Jesus the Christ,
may we be a people
worthy of your name.
Amen.

Sarah Agnew, Pray the Story Volume 2

We may pray to be worthy of the name, but what is it to be worthy?

and just what is the Divine Name?

worthy.

from old English – ‘worth’ + ‘y’ – the y meaning full of, having the quality of

worth – high value, deserving attention, respect

worthy = full of worth, attaining virtue, admiration, estimation

worthy = good enough, suitable, deserving

worthy of your name – that we might bring the name respect, that we might live up to its worth, value, virtue

The Holiest One does not give a name when Moses asks for it in Exodus 3, and again in today’s passage – what the Sacred speaks is the verb for being / becoming

if we vocalise the sounds of that Hebrew verb it is to breathe in ‘y’ and out ‘wh’

the Holiest One’s name is unspeakable, no sounds to go around it other than to breathe

the Holiest One is Breath, the Source of Life, the essence of being – otherwise vocalised in English I am

‘Don’t take us on from here, if you are not going with us,’ Moses says to God

I am

Show me who you are

I am

Proclaim your holy Name

I Am

Up to a mountain

away from the squabbles,

from distractions,

still:

be still, Moses:

I Am.

Up on the mountain,

or down into our sanctuary;

away from the squabbles

over yes or no,

voice or some other way;

be still:

I Am.

Down into our sanctuary,

away from the news

of a complex conflict,

a war-torn region,

a long-contested land.

Come away.

Be still.

I Am.

We come away into this place of prayer,

to turn our gaze more intently on the Divine,

to enter the Story of Justice, Hope, Mercy, Love,

to be shaped by that Story,

by Holy Grace,

and to breathe

[breathe in, breathe out] 

I Am

We breathe in out

breathe with me [breathe in, breathe out] 

The only name the Divine gives to Moses is

breath

is source of life

is I am, I become

[breathe in, breathe out] 

Breathe, now, connect with the Source, the Breath,

and find peace to carry with you

from this sanctuary, from the mountain:

be so transformed by Breath as to breathe

that life into conversations and bring peace,

speak hope, enact justice and kindness

[breathe in, breathe out]

We may feel powerless to change

the culture in Australia,

to resist the power fear

has over our neighbours.

breathe deep the Name,

[breathe in, breathe out]

and bear witness still to life,

to peace, justice, love.

[breathe in, breathe out]

We may feel powerless in response

to wars, terrorism and oppression;

breathe deep the Name,

[breathe in, breathe out]

and bear witness still to life,

to peace, justice, hope.

[breathe in, breathe out]

Come away to the mountain, into sanctuary,

breathe with the Breath of Life,

then return to the world to be known

for and with the Breath of Life we bear.

[breathe in, breathe out]

I don’t want to say much more today,

but to pray again with Paul that we

may be worthy of, may live

up to and into, not only the name

we bear, the name of Christ, Messiah

bringer of liberation, but be worthy

of, live up to and into the Holiest Name

of all – [breathe in, breathe out]

Breath of Being and Becoming,

Breath of Life

1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 

Dear Holy One,
as Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote
with thanksgiving and joy
to the church in Thessalonica
so long ago,
we write in hope for ourselves:

May we be a people
mentioned in the prayers of others,
remembered before you
as faithful, loving, steadfast
in hope in Jesus the Christ;
may we be siblings known
to our kin in Christ as
beloved of Holy One, showing
in our way of being that we have chosen
to follow You, through what kind
of people we prove to be.

May we be imitators of Christ
and the faithful saints gone before;
courageous under attack and temptation,
inspired by the Holy Spirit,
an example to other members
of your Body – may our
commitment to You be known
by all, our welcome of all,
our resistance to this world’s idols,
our love for Christ who rescues –

Dear Jesus the Christ,
may we be a people
worthy of your name.
Amen.

Sarah Agnew, Pray the Story Volume 2

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