Month: January 2021

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. – Psalm 111.10

Fear. Wonder. Awe. When I was preparing to be confirmed, we were encouraged to learn the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For those unfamiliar with them, they are found in the 11^th chapter of Isaiah and are gifts bestowed on the branch from the stump of Jesse, Jesus, the prophesied messiah. As Christians, who are joined to Christ in baptism, we share in these sevenfold gifts from on high. The seven gifts are traditionally listed as wisdom, understanding, knowledge, strength, counsel, piety, and fear of the Lord. These gifts are given to reveal Christ and empower those who believe to follow him.

            Of the seven, I feel the most misunderstood is “fear of the Lord.” We associate “fear” with scary. We are fearful of many things, loss, loneliness, illness, poverty, and death. We may ask ourselves, “Why would God, who is our only source of hope, healing, and salvation, be something to be feared?” “If God is love, and loves us unconditionally, perfecting our conditional and limited love, why should I be afraid?” St. Paul reminds us in Romans, “For you didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that Spirit bearing witness that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:15-16). How can we be afraid of the God who is “for us?” (Romans 8:31)

            I was taught to consider fear in terms of “wonder” and “awe.” These better capture “fear of the Lord.” “Great are the works the Lord, studied by all who delight in them,” writes the Psalmist. Our eyes, opened by this gift, enable us to see God’s magnificent and continuous work of love in the world. Awe of God’s good creation, such as the Desert National Wildlife Refuge or Red Rock Canyon, stirs us to praise the One who made us. Wonder grows in us as holy curiosity leads us to ponder deep in our hearts, the mysteries of God’s Word and what God is doing in our lives and the lives of those God loves. Wonder and awe of the Lord lay the foundation for a heart and mind to be focused on higher, greater things and thus lead us to God’s will.            By this gift, God’s people are transformed to daily recognize that we are “not God” and to receive that as good news. Only God can be God; we can only be God’s beloved creation. From this place, wisdom grows, knowledge deepens, and understanding develops. We are strengthened and consoled as we wrestle through the difficulties of this life. A spirit-filled hymn sings in our ears, “we’ve come this far by faith, trusting in your holy Word, he’s never failed us yet.” In fear, wonder, and awe, we behold the one who makes all things new.

For God alone my soul waits in silence, from God comes my salvation – Psalm 62:1

I keep an old shoebox of handwritten letters that were sent to me in the first years of adulthood. Every now and again, I unbury the box, read through a few of them, and transport to a person twenty year ago with different dreams, concerns, and priorities. I loved to send letters to friends and family, and there was tremendous joy when I would receive their replies. There was a silent, caring beauty about the cycle, especially knowing that at one time, someone took the time to handwrite, stamp, and send a letter. Letter writing’s sunset has long since passed with the rise of the speed and efficiency of text messaging and email, and I feel that we lost something precious and necessary for our lives in this advance of technology, the ability to write silently and to wait patiently for a reply. 

Along the same road, I remember the days when I was more comfortable missing a phone call, caused by leaving the phone at home because the cord wasn’t long enough. I didn’t purchase my first cell phone until I was 22. How did we ever function without this leash attached to us that provides connection, information, and entertainment every second of every day at our fingertips? Card catalogs, board games, waiting six to eight weeks for delivery, and actual conversation were all things that subconsciously taught us to be patient with ourselves and others.

These instant conveniences seep into our souls and cause us to despair when we think God is too silent, for too long. We forget that God doesn’t work in our schedule. Consequently, we pollute these gifted moments of silence with social media, podcasts, and cable news. This makes it near impossible to hear that still, gentle voice of our maker and obstructs our view that God alone is the source of our salvation. We build a crumbling fortress on the noise we ingest and the silence we reject and are surprised to discover how easily shaken we are by every wave that comes our way.

However, the good news doesn’t evade us, there is freedom from our impatience and our noise. There is always hope. We can return and renew, rebel against the encroaching information overload. We can begin to retrain ourselves to listen and be patient. 

We can turn it off. 

            Not forever, but for a time, after all this isn’t intended to be a luddite’s rant. Technology is beneficial and essential when used in moderation and for health and safety. For now, the newspaper, the Facebook page, and the television can wait. The smart phone can be put down. We can spend some time in the uncomfortable silence. We can meditate, breathe deeply. We can write a letter to a dear friend, itself a form of meditation. You don’t have to send it, because that letter can be a place where we pour our hearts out before God, a prayer written to the one who is our refuge. We can once again tune our ears, our minds, and our hearts to the God whose steadfast love calls to us.             In this, we might share the psalmist’s encounter with the divine, “Once God has spoken, twice have I heard this; that power belongs to our God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.” In the gift of silence, we learn to trust again.