September 8, 2005
Recently a “friend of the friars ” e-mailed and asked, “Would you kindly explain what ‘fear of the Lord ’ means?” Well, I would explain it this way.
When we are told that we should “fear the Lord”, we must remember that when we are speaking about God, we are speaking about Someone who is much bigger, better, and beautiful than anything we can imagine. God possesses a purity and a power beyond anything we know, although there are some things which we think come close. For example, we can imagine a star splashed summer sky, or some majestic snow-peaked mountains, or the delicate beauty and fragrance of a rare and exquisite orchid, or the hypnotic cadence of frothy waves crashing on a beautiful beach. Yes, we are “awestruck” with the size, strength, beauty and purity of nature which can help us ponder the greatness and grandeur of supernatural things.
It’s safe to say that most of us live lives more than an arms-length from the natural world. Unlike our great grandparents, we rarely find ourselves in the direct presence of nature which can remind us of just how fragile and finite we actually are. I’m sure some of you know the feeling of being in a very small boat smack in the middle of a very big storm. What about sitting with your heart in your throat as your plane is being jostled like a toy in a lightning storm. Yep, we’re pretty tough on our own turf, like in our living room, but sometimes we find ourselves in situations which remind us of our real size and strength.
To “fear the Lord ” first of all means to admit that we are human – we’re not God. While He does desire that we love Him like a Father, indeed like a friend, we must be careful not to treat God in a casual manner. If we are careful not to offend a family member or friend – how much more “fearful” should we be about offending God!
As we are cautious when handling something extremely delicate or dangerous, in some sense we should also be with God. As we treat radium “as it deserves” – with lead gloves, and as we treat infants as they deserve – with kid gloves, should we then not treat God in a way that that He deserves? We should be careful, “afraid” if you will, in treating God casually like a “buddy in a bar”, or manhandling His orchid-like heart. We should be careful not to play with His established laws like some plastic trinket, and careful not to squeeze His immense mystery into our little minds.
So, to fear the Lord means being in awe of His goodness, kindness, wisdom, power, and most of all, His love for us. The next time you stand at the ocean’s edge or find yourselves swaying in an unexpected earthquake – you will be reminded Who is in charge. Our God is an awesome God. To always hold this truth in our hearts is to possess one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely, fear of the Lord!
Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
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