June 21, 2007

The Fear of the Lord

How many sermons have you heard about not fearing? Jesus often told people to not fear. 1 John 4:18 tells us that perfect love casts out all fear. God is love! I once heard a speaker say that the Bible tells us not to fear 365 times, once for every day of the year.

Yet, Psalm 128 tells us that those who fear the Lord will be blessed. Isaiah 11:1-2 lists fear of the Lord as a gift of the Holy Spirit.

What to do? There are two shades of meaning here. We are not to fear God in the sense of an angry tyrant who is above, waiting to hurl wrathful lightning bolts at wretched sinners. Sadly, some people are motivated by fear. I guess this is better than nothing, yet it is not the best motivation for doing the right thing.

We are to fear God in the sense of awe and reverence before the Lord. Try to imagine a Divine being who is a burning furnace of love and pure goodness! The power of our sun is a poor example of God. The fear of the Lord helps us to be more aware of His presence. We are always in His presence. He literally holds us in existence! Are we aware? Think about it. It is not the case that we hop in and out of His presence. We are not more in His presence when we become aware. We are not less in His presence when we become unaware. Some of the saints were able to be aware of God’s presence at all times, even in the hum-drum of ordinary life. St. Felix of Cantalice, our first Capuchin saint, was always aware of God’s presence as he walked through the bustling streets of 16th Century Rome.

Let us pray for the gift of fear of the Lord so that we may be more aware of God’s presence in our lives.

Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR

St. Joseph Friary, New York, NY

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