Holy Fear

A Reflection on the Second Reading for April 26th, 2020:
​Third Sunday of Easter

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1 Peter 1.17-21

Beloved: If you invoke as Father the one who judges each person impartially according to each one’s deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.

You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.

Christ was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

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I was first introduced to the concept of “Fear of the Lord” when I was introduced to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. My teachers told me that I would receive it during the sacrament of confirmation.

The term “fear” confused me, because I didn’t associate it with anything positive. I saw fear as a negative emotion and motivator — it wasn’t a pleasant experience to have it, generally. My teachers clarified that it was a “Holy” fear. That didn’t help much, since I didn’t really get what Holy truly meant either. I thought about how “perfect love casts out fear,” didn’t understand how these could co-exist, or why God would want to give me this gift.

So, I did some digging. According to the Blue Letter Bible (an online reference for studying the bible), in this passage the original Greek word for fear, phobos, has two interpretations. The first is fear, dread, or terror. The second is reverence for one’s husband — in other words, profound respect.

This spousal meaning interested me, as I’ve always loved when the love between God and His Church was represented by the love between husband and wife. In marriage I vow to love and honour my husband all the days of my life, and the respect that I communicate towards him in even the smallest words and actions has a great impact on our relationship. In a similar way God desires my respect — but on a much greater level because He is beyond worthy of my full trust, surrender, and acknowledgement of who He is.

The gift of this special kind of fear enables us to avoid sin, let go of unhealthy worldly attachments, and live out the virtues. Knowing who God is, in all His majesty and greatness, helps us live out the virtue of hope and to love with whole hearts. We are afraid of offending Him, because we love Him so dearly and fiercely desire union and communion with Him. We can’t bear the thought of losing Him, because He is the Beloved who promised Himself to us.

In marriage, we can start to feel overly familiar with our spouses and forget the mystery of who they are. Sometimes spouses drift apart, and the early feelings of eros love fade — and this can happen just as easily in our relationship with God. It’s especially easy to fall into this space with God, because we are “in the time of [our] exile” — apart from Him in heaven, in a time of waiting and longing. But let’s not be idle and complacent, and instead ask the Holy Spirit to stir up the Holy fear inside our hearts so that we can choose love amidst the most difficult times — especially when we feel most distanced.



Kendra

Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash

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