OMG!

John 20:19-31

Oh, my God! I forgot my sermon notes!
Oh, my God! Look at how cute that little baby is!
Oh, my God! I can’t believe I got an “A” on my math test!
Oh, my God! You didn’t really say that to her, did you?

The acronym – OMG – is a short way of writing it on Facebook or texting it on a cell phone.
Many of us are guilty of using the name of God in such a way. Yes, some say “Oh my gosh”, of which gosh is a substitution of a word for ‘God’ that makes it sound less offensive to some.

You know there is a commandment against this, don't you? In fact, it’s one of the BIG TEN: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. And many people do it like it’s no big deal. Who is it hurting?

According to the writer of Exodus, it’s a serious offense. It carries a severe punishment with it. Exodus 20:7 says the Lord will not hold the person guiltless – as in, 'you’re going to pay for this' – and Leviticus 24:16 says, One who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall be put to death; the whole congregation shall stone the blasphemer. Aliens as well as citizens, when they blaspheme the Name, shall be put to death.

Is blaspheming and speaking God’s name in vain the same? The short answer is ‘Yes.’ The Hebrew word for ‘blaspheme’ can mean two different things. It can mean to pierce, or perforate, as in - to put lots of holes in it – to make it like a sieve. I guess that’s a literal way of thinking of a holey God. A God we have pierced many times. And humanity did literally pierce God - with nails, in his hands, and in his feet, and in his side. We continue to pierce him with our tongues when God’s name is used without due respect.

The second meaning of the Hebrew word ‘blaspheme’ means to separate out from others, to declare distinctly, and most appropriate to this discussion, ‘to call by name.’ That’s why the Jews said it was a sin to speak the name of ‘God’ – because you couldn’t speak it with the reverence and awe it deserved. We speak the name of God today without much thought.

Sometimes Christians and unbelievers alike get more distinct in calling out God’s name. They may say, “Jesus Christ!” – and they don’t mean it in a way that puts them on their knees in awe, or worship, or praise. How easily we abuse and pierce the name that is above all names.

To blaspheme and to take the name of the Lord your God in vain are both about using God’s name in a way to give it an emptiness of meaning. The death that comes to us when we think of God so flippantly is our spiritual death. The absence of our awareness of God with us every moment of every day.

When Thomas, the Twin, saw Jesus, he said, “Oh, my God!”

Thomas is becoming my hero as the disciple who “got it” before any of the other disciples. Thomas was not using God’s name in an empty way. In fact, he proclaims the gospel in this statement. Thomas is the first disciple to declare it to all the rest. Yes, their eyes had been opened to see that Jesus was risen, and they believed it. But then, they’d already seen three human bodies come back to life.

Thomas’ eyes are not only opened to see Jesus is alive, but his eyes are opened to who Jesus of Nazareth really is – God - in human form.

To say, “My Lord” was no problem. It was a title of respect that you might give to a superior, like ‘master.’ But to say, “My God!” was to separate out Jesus as God. Thomas was declaring Jesus is God. He said “My Lord and my God”…in awe, in reverence, in recognition that Jesus was far greater than a human being that had risen from death.

Thomas declares Jesus is the Divine come down from heaven. In Jesus we see a Creator whose nature is one of goodness, mercy, and love. Jesus is the Creator. Jesus is the Spirit of truth. Jesus is one and the same with the Father and the Holy Spirit, three in One. The unchanging Truth.

Thomas was the first to speak the name of God in it’s visible truth. Blessed are those who have not seen his physical body, or put our hands in his wounds, and yet we say of him, “You are my Lord and you are my God.”

This is the good news. Jesus is the revelation of God to the world. Thank you Thomas for being the first to tell us: God is good......all the time!

Blessings - PWM