There is More to Names than as Mere Identifiers.

(Reflection for Thursday in Week Fifteen of the Ordinary Time). 07/21/25. Chima Offurum.

Names carry deep meaning and purpose. We are recognized through our names, and these shape our identity. When Moses asked God to reveal His name, I guess he sought to configure God into an identity marker. The first reading says that God responded by giving Moses His name as “I AM WHO I AM,” affirming His eternal presence and power (Exodus 3:14). This name, Yahweh, not only reveals God’s identity but also helps us understand our own, as people created and called by the One who is.

In Jesus, that same God calls us by name. He invites us to come close, bringing in our joys, disappointments, and dissatisfactions  (Matthew 11:28). His invitation is gentle and personal: “Come to me, all you who are burdened and overwhelmed, and I will give you rest.” In the weight of our struggles, we find rest not in escape, but in the encounter with the God who knows us through and through. Let us respond to His call with open hearts, finding peace in the One who names and restores us.