Tetragrammaton
"Yahweh. Yahweh. Always pain before the child is born. Yahweh. Yahweh. Still I'm waiting for the dawn." That line is from the song entitled "Yahweh" from U2's album How to Dismantle the Atomic Bomb. It is by far my favorite song on the album. In fact as I listened to the song to write this blog, I closed my eyes and got lost in the bridge. Very cool song.
Well, something of an atomic bomb is hitting the world of liturgical music.
Here's a word for you: the Tetragrammaton. For the Jewish people, the name of God was so sacred that it was not to be spoken and it was not to be written. The name of God when translated into modern English is "I am who will be there with you" or "I am who I am." When we look at in Hebrew, the vowels have been removed. Therefore, it hasn't been written. The consonants are only an assemblage of letters that becomes a symbol rather than a name. The symbol is YHWH.
I'm not sure as to the history, but for some reason we have found it acceptable to insert vowels and pronounce the unpronounceable name of God. It has been written as Jehovah and Yahweh, most commonly.
I love that U2 song. I love "Yahweh, I Know You Are Near," "Yahweh, the Faithful One," "To You Yahweh," and many other songs that include the Divine Name. But the Church is reminding us that God's name is to be revered and cherished and only spoken in the depths of hearts. It's a change, but it is a change I agree with.
We have been given the great gift of being chosen by God to be his friend. It is an intimacy that we must run toward! But the power of that friendship can only be appreciated if we come to know the awesome power of the One who called us to his friendship.
Friends of spiritandsong.com, Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong, wrote God of Wonders, a song that describes how far beyond our experience God is. Worship should lead us to silent awe before God's wonder. Dive in . . . and hush.
Here is the Catholic News Service story on this topic.
