what's in a name?
"When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, 'I drew him out of the water.' " —Exodus 2:10
Pharaoh's daughter named Moses. This is very significant because in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, to name a person means to give them their identity. Thus, the Lord often changes the names of people in the Bible. However, the Lord did not change Moses' name but let him struggle for most of his life with his identity. After God revealed His own name to Moses, Moses began to discover his identity and the meaning of his name (see Ex 3:14).
Moses' name provides the key to discovering who we are. Moses' name means: "I drew him out of the water" (Ex 2:10). We need to know who we are so we can realize that we must let God change who we are. We must admit our human nature is fallen and that we need to be born again of water and the Spirit (Jn 3:5). When we are "drawn out of the waters" of Baptism, the Lord changes who we are and gives us the light to know who we are in Him.
In this year dedicated to God the Father, as we prepare for the Great Jubilee, let us realize that we who have been drawn out of the waters of Baptism have been adopted and named by God the Father. Let's live our Baptisms, know ourselves, love ourselves, and love our neighbors (see Lk 10:27).
Prayer: Father, I revel in being Your adopted child.
Promise: "She was moved with pity for him." —Ex 2:6
Praise: St. Henry was a ruler of an empire who lived a life of unquestioned personal holiness. He let his "light shine before men so that they" could "see goodness in (his) acts and give praise to" God (Mt 5:16).
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, November 28, 1998
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 1, 1998