Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A Proper "Fear of the Lord": To Live Life on Earth as It Will Be Lived in Heaven

The month of November in the Northern Hemisphere brings many changes in the appearance of nature, the outside temperature, and the emotions that many people experience. Christians throughout the centuries have chosen to "go with the flow" of these changes by taking time to pause and consider the reality of loss, the waning of the vigor of life, and the inevitable end of all things. During this time of year the Church chooses to ponder loss, diminishment, death, and the end through the lens of various Gospel teachings concerning how to be prepared for such eventualities. One reason for doing this, perhaps, is to reshape our personal and collective sense of fear of the greatest unknown associated with life: death and what happens beyond it.


The first reading and Gospel for this past weekend's liturgies both explicitly mention the word fear and the role that it plays in the life of faith. However, the manner in which the word is used is quite different between the two readings and therefore offers us the opportunity to compare and contrast a "healthy" and empowering sense of fear versus one that debilitates and cripples. The first reading from the book of Proverbs speaks of the praiseworthiness of the woman who "fears the Lord." The Gospel tells the parable of the talents and describes how one of the three servants entrusted with the Master's talents (an ancient sum of money) tucks it away in the ground out of fear. Why is it that fear in the first reading is praiseworthy and in the Gospel text the fear of the servant towards his master (i.e., God) is the grounds for punishment?


The first reading and Gospel are obviously dealing with two very different meanings of the word fear. The basic distinction could be described as the fear that empowers (as in the first reading) versus the fear that incapacitates (as in the Gospel). The type of fear that we are to have of God and the mystery of God is one that empowers; however, what is sad is the fact that the Christian tradition has very often used the fear we see in the Gospel to manipulate belief in God or to cajole compliance with dogma, doctrine, or moral teachings. True "fear of the Lord" according to the Judeo-Christian scriptures implies not a "slavish" fear of punishment, but a sense of awe and wonder at the grandeur of God, God's Creation, and God's plan of salvation. Such a "fear" motivates through inspiration, not intimidation. The importance of having a proper understanding of the role of "the fear of the Lord" in the life of faith cannot be understated.


I was recently having coffee with someone of staunch Christian belief when the topic of heaven and the life of heaven was raised. I explained my reflections and musings on the subject and expressed my conviction that life here on Earth likely won't change significantly unless Christians give serious thought to the program of the Kingdom (meaning, life in the "New Creation" or "heaven") and than work to enact this program here on Earth (this is truly what it means to proclaim the Good News). My counterpart stated that she hadn't given much thought to heaven and, rather, focused more on fearing God in the sense of avoiding God's judgement and punishment. This example, I believe, throws into relief what's at stake in how we understand "the fear of the Lord". One sense of fear leads to contemplating the divine mystery embodied in God, Christ, Holy Spirit, and God's plan of salvation and than being empowered to envision and enact the possibilities of New Creation in the here and now. The other approach to fear stifles creative thought and incapacitates the imagination from being able to see and strive for the possibility of God's will being done "on Earth, as it is in Heaven".