Sirach 51:1-6. A prayer of praise and thanks to God for being our protector and our helper. Sirach gives praise to God's name because God has delivered him from destruction; from liars; from those about to devour him; from those who sought his life; from his many afflictions; from the choking fire on every side "which I did not kindle"; from the depths of Hades; from unclean tongues and lying words; and from the slander of an unrighteous tongue to the king.

Yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus and the homily at Mass was about how important God's name is, how it really means something. Jesus' name means "Yahweh saves" - His name is who and what he is. Here Sirach gives praise to God but also to God's holy name. When we say God's name we invoke him and his omnipotence; we are calling him into our corner in his creation. We better be darn sure we are calling him righteously, or we will be one of those who "slander the king with an unrighteous tongue."

Reverence for God's name is so much more important than I ever really realized before. We are in the midst of a choking fire that we did not kindle. If we want to be saved, we need to cry out to the Lord, we need to call on his holy name. He is the only one who can save us. But if we have repeatedly called upon his name for frivolous or even slanderous and evil purposes, then we have no respect for it. We do not really believe in his power and might, and his name will mean nothing on our lying lips.

So be careful when calling on God's name, it means something. It could be your saving help, or it could be your destruction.