Anime Christi

^{Offered to Jesus by the hands of Mary}

Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”

General Notes:

1. Some of you need no introduction to Spirited Away, if that’s the case feel free to skip down to the next section.
2. If you haven’t seen Spirited Away and my recommendation is worth anything then go watch it. This article isn’t going anywhere. It may not be your favorite anime movie, but it has secured its place as a classic for a reason, namely a good story, a decent English dub, and expert directing.
3. Spoilers will, of course, lie below; proceed at your own will.
4. This won’t be the only Spirited Away article, so stay tuned.

 

What’s our focus?

            As part of the movie, our heroine, Chihiro, makes a contract with Yubaba. The part I want to focus on is how the contract is sealed. Yubaba steals part of Chihiro’s name thus renaming her Sen. This is more than simply contractual because we learn from Haku that if Sen forgets her original name, then she won’t ever be able to leave. We also learn this is why Haku himself cannot leave Yubaba’s service.

            Christians are no strangers to name changes. We have men and women throughout the Old and New Testament that have their names changed. Some Christians imitate this by taking baptismal or confirmation names. Name changes signify a change in identity and mission, but I’m not going to focus on the name change. Rather, I want to focus on the consequences of knowing someone’s name. For example: any schoolboy whose full name is shouted out knows he’s in big trouble. Likewise, when honoring someone, we always use their full title.

            My point for this section is the names have power.

 So, where we going with this?

            In the Judeo-Christian tradition this is seen in the countless passages where the Lord’s name itself is reverenced. Genesis says men “call upon the name of the Lord” (Gen 4:26). What’s even more fascinating is that God talks about “the place where my names dwells”. This is none other than the tabernacle and latter the temple which was understood to have the divine presence resting over the ark of the covenant.

We see then the divine presence is linked with the Lord’s name.The whole 2nd commandment about not taking the Lord’s name in vain makes a lot more sense then when profaning the Lord’s name is the same as profaning the Lord himself. 

Okay… and?

            The consequences for Christians are huge and wonderful! We know the name of God in the flesh: Jesus! His name literally means “God saves” reminding us He saves us from sin, but he also points towards the Old Testament Joshua who fulfilled the mission of Moses of leading God’s people into the promised land. Peter makes it clear that there is no other name by which we are saved (Acts 4:12).

            If there is power in the spoken name of Jesus, do we use it to our advantage? How often do we use Jesus’ name as a prayer in itself? The early monastic tradition had a very simple way of praying with Jesus’ name. “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.” It’s a simple invocation that can be repeated and even synced with our breathing.

            My favorite insight about the power of Jesus’ name comes from St. Hesychios: “the more the rain falls on the earth the softer it makes it; similarly Christ’s holy name gladdens the earth of our hearts the more we call upon it.”

            For those who like an anime reference, recall how in Spirited Away Haku regains his memory by hearing his real name, or how in Noragami, Hiyori is literally able to summon Yato by calling his name. How much more can we who call upon the name of Jesus profit since our God has conquered death! 

Parting Advice

            If I can leave some homework it would be this:

Pray the Jesus prayer, any version that works for you. Even if you can only fit it in before falling asleep, or when you’re stopped a red light on your commute, or waiting in line, or out on your smoke break, or get to church before Mass starts. You won’t regret it.

 Benefits: Praying the Jesus prayer reminds us

• We can’t save ourself
• We should turn to Jesus in temptation
• Not to lose our peace of heart
• To keep our mind on Jesus throughout our daily activities

After all, the commandment says “do not take the Lord’s name in vain.” But on the positive side, do we reverence the Lord’s name as we should? Do we let it sanctify us? Do we let his name dwell in our hearts?

_{Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner!}