Worthily Magnify God’s Holy Name
Psalm 18:1-20 • Psalm 18:21-50
Jonah 3:1 - 4:11 • Acts 27:27-44 • Luke 9:18-27
One of the most important prayers in the liturgy is the Collect for Purity, prayed every Sunday near the beginning of the Holy Eucharist: “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord.” This prayer has a specific goal in mind: to make us honest with ourselves, and to examine with fresh clarity the way we understand God’s presence in our lives. The prayer takes us to the crossroads of our identity and God’s, and the way both intersect.
At least in part, I see this intersection occurring in the readings for today. Jonah is miserable because he knows God is merciful, and is ashamed of that mercy. Jonah cannot reconcile his and God’s identities together, and it causes him anguish to see compassion extended to those whom he despises. Therefore, Jonah cannot effectively magnify God.
Thomas Merton says, “God cannot be glorified by anything that violates the order established by his wisdom. This order demands that man’s body, and all that his body uses, be in subjection to his soul, and that man’s soul be subject to God.” Today’s gospel centers the reconciliation of these identities together, and offers an unrelenting vision of mercy that we are allowed to participate in — Christ as the savior must die on the cross, and we must bear that expression of sacrifice as well, and to not be ashamed of that sacrifice. To do so is to be as unrelentingly merciful as God. In that, we worthily magnify God’s holy Name, and undo the shame Jonah felt at the sacred prophecies of compassion that God uttered.
Written by Nathan John Haydon
Nathan earned his PhD studying medieval literature, especially Old English literature and theology. He’s a Benedictine oblate, a candidate for Holy Orders, and he loves coffee, beer, and cats, and sometimes enjoys drinking coffee and beer at the same time while playing with a cat.