Needs to convince herself and the others that she knows him and what he stands for

They dont even know his name - this could indicate that the important thing is not what his name is (or Jesus' name) but what he stands for. It could also indicate that she desperately needs to believe in something even though she dont know what that means.

The iceberg theory explains how a writer (especially Hemingway) can write a minimalistic story where the reader have to read between the lines to understand whats ''under the surface''