At the name of Jesus

I love doing the ‘God in the Life of..’ interviews and I came out of this month’s interview (see page 5) feeling particularly refreshed. Reflecting on it afterwards, I thought this was in part because it was so refreshing to hear the name of Jesus spoken so forthrightly, so unashamedly, and it struck me how rare that is. It occurred to me that while we are happy to use the words  God or Christ frequently, often now the only time I hear the name Jesus in daily life is when it is used blasphemously, in anger. Why is this? Is it some slightly awkward Anglican feeling about being over-familial, about claiming too much of a relationship? A feeling that to say Christ is respectful, but to say Jesus is too familiar? Yet when Robin used it, I knew it signified he was honoured to claim such a familiar relationship with his Lord.

It’s odd because as children our relationship and understanding of God is all channelled though a very personal relationship with Jesus. I grew up saying night-time prayers that began ‘Jesus friend of little children’ or ‘Jesus, tender Shepherd hear me’. At what point did I feel slightly shamefaced about using the name Jesus and replace it with Lord, or Father, which seem more respectful (and respectable)?
But if we don’t claim Jesus by name, as we learnt to do as children, then maybe the only time we will hear his name so spoken is in anger, by those who don’t know that ‘at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow’.

Anyway, I’ve decided to set myself a task and use his name every day. And I’ve discovered a great way of  practising this. I came across a tape of hymns and songs for children, and bought it for my son. It has on it all the favourites I remember from Sunday school, albeit with much more jazzed up tunes than I remember singing. But the words are the same: ‘Jesus wants me for a sunbeam’, ‘Jesus Loves me’ and ‘Tell me the stories of Jesus’. So playing these at full blast and singing along with my car windows open this summer down Oxford’s Botley Road should ease me in nicely!

Rebecca Paveley is Editor of The Door