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The words we use to point toward God are meant to flow out of our sense of relationship to the Divine. To my ear, much of the language used in the church has an archaic ring; it sounds medieval.
Allow me to try to explain using our language for Jesus as an example. When I pray, the words Lord Jesus Christ come trippingly to my tongue. In no way do I mean to suggest these words are wrong, merely that they do not convey the closeness I want to acknowledge and nurture in my relationship with Jesus. I don’t usually use titles when talking to people I love. I wonder if the inclusion of the titles Lord and Anointed One don’t distance me from a sense of connectedness with Jesus.
My sense of the historical Jesus is, I am sure, quite flawed. Yet some awareness of the historical time in which Jesus lived, his Jewish context, gave me a more flesh and boney sense of him. Rather than being clothed in lordly attire, I thought of him dressed as a rabbi. Instead of praying Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, I began praying Jesus of Nazareth, child of the Living God, teach me to love. These words, imperfect in their own way, at least conveyed to me a deeper connection to Jesus, a great relatability to his role in my life.
All language falls short of conveying the depth of reality. Religious language is particularly challenged because it seeks to speak of Absolute Reality. While that task is daunting, it is worthwhile to continue to try to name our relationship with and our love for God in words that resonate within us. At this point in my life, I feel called to let go of some of the more ancient terms when speaking of or speak to God. Some of those words no long adequately name my sense of my relationship with the Divine. The growing closeness I feel and want to acknowledge begs for new words. Jesus shocked the people of his time by referring to God as Abba. May we find words that convey such intimacy.