Call often on the name of Jesus and give God the gift of love

By Mary Regina Morrell

"At the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth." Philippians 2:10

Recently, I was in Costco, bulk shopping for God knows what reason, when I noticed a young mother with three young ones in tow. Like me, they had just begun shopping, but already there were cries of "Mom! Can we look over there?", "Mom! My shoe lace is stuck in the basket!" "Mom! Where's the bathroom?"

We seemed to be following the same route through the store and by the time we had maneuvered about three aisles I must have heard the word "Mom" about 15 times. The mom's face looked pained and you could almost hear the words moms have all said at one time or another - "If I hear my name one more time I'm going to scream!!"

Well, yesterday was one of those days, when I thought that if I heard my kids call my name one more time I would lock myself in my room with a hefty pair of their headphones!

Actually, those days don't happen much any more, now that my sons are mostly young men, and honestly, sometimes I miss it. When they were young there were times when little feet and hands were running to me all day long, bringing me the skinned knee, the crayon scribbled work of art, the yellow dandelions, the impromptu hug, the gold star on a homework paper, "Chop Sticks" played for the first time on the piano, and then Chop Sticks played again, and again, and again....

But really, any mother knows that those often exasperating moments really reflect an experience of the love that binds child and mother. Those are the times when our child calls out our name - "Mom, I'm hurt!" "Nana, Look what I made!" "Aunt Carol, this is for you!" "Dad, I love you!" Those times are expressions of love and trust on the part of the child and moments of joy for the mom, or dad, or grandparent, or anyone who is special to the life of a child. Those experiences of calling the name of someone we love continue to be important even when the child is now an adult and the parent is a grandparent seven-times over!

And didn't Jesus, the man, speak often in Scriptures of the need for us, as adults, to be like little children? The truth is, however, now that we are all grown up, we often find it hard to be children again. We often find it difficult to call on the name of someone else, even if it is someone we love, because we may be looked upon as weak or needy, and certainly not the strong, independent, I-can-do-it-all-by-myself kind of person this world admires.

Then, what about God? How often do we allow ourselves to be the child again in the sight of our Creator?

How often do we call out the name of Jesus, our Lord and Beloved, our God, even in our hearts if not from our lips?

When we are hurt or afraid, perhaps, but how often do we run to Jesus with our creative endeavors, no matter how scribbled they are, unashamedly to say, "This is for you!"

How often do we take even just a few moments to rest in the chapel of our own hearts, not to ask for help but to say simply, "Thank you, Love, for all the gifts; for the strength, the peace and for just being You."

And in not doing that, how often do we take from God the moments of joy that would belong to God through our sweet expressions of love and trust? Ask any parent, no matter their age, how they feel when their child, especially their all-grown-up child, expresses love. Does God feel any less?

Our Lord is not waiting impatiently for us to come to him, his rather large Godly foot tapping on the floor of heaven, but instead, God waits for us expectantly, desiring with all his Godly heart, to see us running to him with trust and delight, calling out the most beautiful prayer ever created -- His name!

Jesus himself taught us that God looks for us as the Father of the Prodigal Son looked for his child. Jesus taught us that, Abba, the Aramaic word for Papa, was the right word to use when calling our God.

Often, we hesitate, feeling we are not worthy to come so close to the God who created Heaven and Earth and everything in between! But we should never fear such an intimate relationship with one who, though Jesus, sacrificed his life for us -- the children God loved so very much.

One of the things I learned from my "sainted" Irish grandmother, and for which I will always be grateful, was an understanding that it was alright to call on the name of Jesus in joy, in celebration, in anger and in grief. It was then that I often heard her call, "Sweet Jesus!" What a beautiful prayer!

It should be the prayer of our heart whether we are child or mother or father or grandparent or all of these things, because there really is no name sweeter than that of our dearest Love.

_____________________________

Mary Regina Morrell is the author of Angels in High Top Sneakers, and four reflection journals available through the Metuchen Office of Religious Education, including one on praying the Mysteries of Light.

Contact

Diocese of Metuchen
http://diometuchen.org NJ, US
Mary Regina Morrell - Associate Director, Office of Religious Education, 732 562.1990

Email

mmorrell@diometuchen.org

Keywords

Name, God, Jesus,love, heart

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