Every year, when we talk about the sacrament of confirmation, either in RCIA or to the eighth graders, we inevitably bring up the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you adults in church still remember some of them, The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are those special divine attributes that are offered to us as we become children of God, first in baptism and then, more completely, with our confirmation. Each of the seven gifts is unique and important, but one generates a great deal of interest and occasional confusion and concern. The gift that I am referring to is called “fear of the Lord” and it is characterized by a sense of reverence in relation to God and all things connected to him. Now this gift of the Holy Spirit, one of the hallmarks of God’s life within us, seems directly opposed to what we have been taught about God. Jesus loves us, right? God wants us to be happy with him in heaven, yes? He sent his Son to die for us, the same Son of God that we receive in the Eucharist as our spiritual food! How can we fear God? Isn’t he our friend?
Well, let’s take another look at today’s readings. In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses is talking to the people and he references an earlier incident, when the Chosen People first met God. This takes place in the 19th chapter of Exodus and before the people can meet him, God tells them to fast for three days, to cleanse themselves and their clothes and to keep their distance from Mount Horeb, which was where he would appear. As a matter of fact, God told Moses that if any person or animal touched his holy mountain, they must be put to death immediately! After three days, when God descended upon the mountain, there was thunder and lightning, a loud blast of the horn, a dark cloud which surrounded the mountain, and the ground trembled. Not even Moses, the great prophet, could look at God’s face and live, so holy and awesome and perfect was the Lord. Understandably, the people were shaken by God’s power and majesty, so much so that they asked Moses to see if God would communicate with them in a slightly less intimidating way, through prophets who would relay his commands and message. In other words, the Chosen People were overcome by fear of the Lord after they had seen God’s majesty.
Today’s first reading addresses the people’s request to have God speak to them in a different way. Moses announces to the people that God has chosen him as the prophet who will convey all God wants them to hear. The reading ends with two important warnings. The first warns of literal “hell to pay” if the people fail to listen to the words of the prophet. The second warns the prophet against speaking his own words or those of other gods, lest he face punishment. While the people may not directly encounter God’s presence like they did on Mount Horeb, they still need to fear the Lord and listen to what he tells them through the Law and the Prophet.
The fear of the Lord shows itself once again in the gospel, although in a different way that we might expect. Jesus goes to the synagogue to teach, and while he is instructing the people, he comes across a man with an unclean spirit. The demonic spirit within the man questions Jesus: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” The demon even acknowledges him as the Holy One of God, something many of the religious leaders wouldn’t do! Jesus tells the evil spirit to be quiet and to leave the man and this fearful spirit, which had tortured this man leaves immediately! Why? Jesus had the authority of God, the authority of his prophets. And as this miracle shows us, demons immediately recognized that authority and they responded to his command to depart from those that they afflicted - - calling Jesus as they did so:"The Holy One of God".
Evil listened to Jesus,
Evil fled at the command of Jesus.
Even Evil feared God!
Who do we respond too? Who do we listen to? Who do we fear? Over and over again the scriptures say: The fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom. But the Fear of God is not very fashionable today. Many of us have come to believe that Hell is simply a metaphor, a scare tactic, a description of the pain & suffering we experience here & now, while others have convinced themselves that God's judgements are always good ones - good in the sense that God will not punish us for our sins or make us pay for our transgressions if we believe in him and in his son Jesus Christ.
Indeed, almost all of us have become so familiar with God's mercy, that we have forgotten the significance of that mercy, we have forgotten that God is to be feared and respected, we have forgotten that with God there is judgement, we have forgotten the demanding Holiness of our God, and as a result we have become foolish while thinking ourselves to be wise.
God's goodness is so tremendous, his Holiness so complete, that no evil can exist near it, Many of us listen to false prophets, we listen to those who tell us over and over again that God is not to be feared, and that we can do this thing or that thing, and not worry about the consequences.
We listen to those who tell us with half truths and outright lies, that we do not need to obey every word of his Son, and that we do not need to believe in Him to be saved. We listen to those who tell us God does not judge his children, even though the Scriptures clearly reveal that God judges those he loves and punishes those whom he favors.
The truth about God is that he has authority and he has power. And further - the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The purpose of the fear of God is to keep us from sinning and it is a good thing!
We can and should be friends of Jesus, Jesus can and does dwell in all those who sincerely call upon his name, and his love, the love of God, is meant to set us free. But also remember that the love Jesus proclaimed is godly love; a love that casts out demons, a love that is willing to punish so that it might heal, a love that teaches so that it might bestow life and warn of death.
So let us embrace the fear of the Lord, knowing that it is the beginning of true wisdom. Let us take comfort in knowing that God has offered us this holy fear as one of his gifts, not to paralyze us but lead us to eternal life. Finally, let us thank God for his love, which is made all the more incredible and special due to his greatness and majesty, which is so far beyond us but is so generously offered to us, again and again. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures forever.
