Monday, January 18, 2021

18 January 2021 - godly fear


he was heard for his godly fear. 

Jesus was the perfect exemplar of all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
(see Isaiah 11)

We know that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (see Proverbs 9:10). In normal people the beginnings of this fear have to do with consequences, the pains of hell and the loss of heaven. But this was not the sense in which Jesus feared. 

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love (see First John 4:18).

Fear of punishment was like the old wineskins and the old cloak that are symbolically the Old Testament and the law. That way of thinking was too limited to make sense of the mission of Jesus and the gift of the Spirit that he came to give. His life was the bridge by which we were elevated from a servile fear, one characteristic of slaves, to a filial fear, that appropriate to our status as adopted sons and daughters.

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (see Second Timothy 1:7).

The very consequences that we feared Jesus was able to overcome by the virtue of his absolute trust in his Father.

Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him

He endured suffering, all of the sorrowful mysteries, for us who were paralyzed by the fear of suffering and death. He who was perfect from before the foundation of the world chose the path that made him perfect as the source of salvation for all who obey him. He who from eternity was perfectly obedient to the Father "learned obedience from what he suffered". He taught our fallen human nature the path of obedience that was firm even in the face of suffering. This was a gap that our doubt and infirmity could not cross alone. It was only his certainty of the Father's love for him that allowed him to fulfill his mission so completely. 

Jesus revealed the Father's love as a new paradigm which we can make the firm foundation of our lives. Is it any wonder that in his presence we cannot help but feast?

“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.

Jesus is with us always, to the end of the age (see Matthew 28:20) yet sometimes we experience him as distant. This happens when we shift back into the mental framework of old wineskins and old cloaks. At such times fear drives us to pursue something other than God as our greatest good. Assuredly, we will find ourselves spiritually hungry when we do so. When we experience this hunger we should interpret it as a call to make sure we are wearing the baptismal robes of grace and that we are drinking deeply of the new wine of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:13). Let us ask the Father to help us to have a fear proper to those who are completely loved and desire not to offend their Father, all good, and deserving of all of our love, in anything. Let us come to the feast which the Church never ceases to place before us (even in Lent!) and be filled.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows (see Psalm 23:5).



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