FEAR

Dr. Richard J. Henderson February 3, 2008

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Exodus 24:12-18
Matthew 17:1-9

Introduction

Maybe you've read the Bible and been confused by phrases like, "The fear of the Lord is glory," or "Let the fear of the Lord be upon you," or "Fear God and give him glory." Talk of fearing God runs all through the Bible; it is especially found in the Old Testament, but it's also in the New Testament.

We don't think of fearing God, we think of loving God or being committed to God. We try to strengthen our relationship with God, but what kind of relationship can you have if it's based on fear?

I

I remember as a young Christian wondering about the phrase the "fear of God." I had read, "Fear the Lord and serve him," and the well-known phrase in Proverbs, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."

I was an eighth grader who had gone off to summer camp at Camp Fairfield in western Pennsylvania, and after one of our Bible discussion groups I asked my counselor what it meant to fear God. I didn't get it.

If God is a loving and nurturing God who deeply cares about each one of us, what is there to be afraid of? If we have a close relationship with God, why would we fear God? It seemed like we were being asked to be afraid of a giant Teddy Bear? Why should we fear God?

The answer that I got early on was that it didn't mean to be scared of God, but that we should be afraid of disobeying God. My counselor explained that fearing God means being afraid of offending God by something you do or say. It doesn't mean be frightened of God, but worry about going against God's will.

A couple of months ago a friend of mine called me. He said, "I've been worrying that when we talked the other day I said something that offended you. I have a lot going on in my life right now, and I'm afraid you might have taken what I said the wrong way. I called to check with you. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but I'm afraid I might have." My friend certainly wasn't afraid of me, but he was afraid that he might have hurt me.

The first explanation I got about "fearing God" was that it didn't mean being scared of God, but being concerned about disobeying God. That first explanation is right and true, and it makes sense.

II

About five years later I learned another explanation of the fear of God. In some ways it is a better explanation, but it builds on the truth of the first. Fear of God is not so much being afraid of God as it is being in awe of God. It is standing before God, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever present. It means understanding that God has characteristics that we can't even imagine. This explanation says clearly, "God is God, and I am not. I can't fully comprehend who God is." Some of the awe we feel comes from the overwhelming power of God; some of it comes from the unique actions of God.

Now some of you are asking, "What does this have to do with the gospel reading today about the transfiguration?" (OK, probably none of you wondered about that!). But when Jesus takes them up the mountain and is transformed before them, the disciples are afraid. There stands Jesus, Moses and Elijah, and then the spirit of God speaks from a cloud, "This is my Beloved Son." Matthew says the disciples "fell to the ground and were overcome by fear."

We understand exactly why. The power, the wonder, these amazing events; no wonder they were afraid. They fell down in awe of what they saw, and the one who was doing it.

Remember the reaction of the women at the empty tomb after Jesus rose from the dead? Mark says they "fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them". They were afraid; but it wasn't just fear, but also amazement at what they had experienced.

Fear of the Lord is awe, fright, and amazement at how God is so much more than we are.

III

Some time later I learned that the fear of God has to do with what God asks us to do. Often what God wants us to do isn't easy. Frequently God is pushing us beyond our comfort zone. Sometimes what God asks is scary.

Imagine the people who were called to walk in the civil rights march, from Selma to Montgomery. Police lined up with billy clubs, fire trucks with hoses that can throw you across the street, angry dogs barking and bearing their teeth. Every one of those marchers had to be terrified.

I think of a guy in the New Testament named Ananias. He was a leader in the Christian church. Paul, as you may remember, was an active Jew before his conversion, and more than that, he was zealous in persecuting Christians. Often he hunted them down and killed them. He traveled all over to find Christians and attack them.

Then Paul had a dramatic conversion experience and made a 180 degree turn - he became a great, profound, compassionate Christian. He changed from a persecutor of Christians to a very committed Christian.

Ananias didn't know about this change when he had a dream in which God told him to go and meet Paul. Here's a guy who has been persecuting Christians every chance he got, and God tells Ananias to go and meet him. With quavering voice Ananias says, "I have heard about all the evil he has been doing." Don't you think Ananias is shaking in his boots when he goes to meet Paul?

Sometimes the fear of God comes because God asks us to do things that scare us. It might be as little a thing as mentioning in conversation that you pray, or inviting someone to come to church, or it could be something that is physically dangerous. God has a way of pulling us out of our comfort zone. If we haven't felt some discomfort we may want to look again at our faith.

Conclusion

Sometimes we need to fear God - in the sense of fearing to disobey God, or standing in awe of God. At other times Jesus tells us not to fear - like when we are asked to do something that we find frightening. So often we see Jesus saying to people, "Do not be afraid." He says it to the women at the resurrection.

When the disciples are trembling at Jesus' transfiguration, Jesus says "Get up and do not be afraid."

The fear of God means being afraid to go against God, it is also a sense of awe, wonder, and mystery that is unsettling. And sometimes it is fear because of what God has asked you to do.

So fear God, and don't afraid.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2008