Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year A
On this Second Sunday of Lent, I have a question for you. Last week, as we heard the gospel of the temptation of Jesus, I challenged us all to think of what would make us happy. Today, a different question: what are you afraid of? Think about it for a moment. What are you afraid of?
In his great children’s tale, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis describes the lion Aslan as a creature who can instill both great love and great fear. When the children in the story first meet Aslan, Lewis says: “People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now.” The great lion, a symbol of Christ, was the image of perfect love, but at the same time was capable of instilling fear – as any lion could. Love and fear, in this particular story at least, can exist at the same time.
And then look at today’s gospel. Jesus is on the mountain with three of his disciples, and Moses and Elijah appear with him. The disciples are so excited and awed that they want to build tents, but soon a cloud appears, and a voice from heaven saying that this is God’s beloved Son – and what happens? The disciples fall on the ground and try to hide because they are afraid. They are probably as close to God at that moment as anyone since Moses and Elijah, they are caught up in the midst of God’s glory, and yet they are afraid. And it seems they are afraid of God.
Fear of God has long been considered a gift – one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit – and yet most of us Christians would have a hard time understanding why we should fear God. Love casts our fear, as the First Letter of John says; love seems to be the opposite of fear, and God is love. So how can we fear the God we are called to love? Dr. Paul Thigpen, a well-known Catholic writer and speaker, suggests that there are three reasons why we can, and should, both love and fear God at the same time. First, we fear God because he is the creator and we are mere creatures. Imagine standing next to Niagara Falls or at the rim of the Grand Canyon. These natural wonders can instill great awe and wonder, but also a hint of fear, because they are so much bigger and more powerful than we are. That same sense of awe and wonder is magnified when we place ourselves next to God – the one who created everything that ever has been and ever will be – and we realize that we are just specks of dust in the whole scheme of creation. To fear God the Creator is to become humble; it reminds us that we are not in charge: God is. We have limits; God does not. The fear of God leads us to humility.
The second way Dr. Thigpen suggests that we fear God is because he is holy, and we are not; God is perfect, and we are sinners. We are afraid of the pain we will feel when God’s holiness takes over and our sinfulness is burned away. It is much more comfortable to wallow in the pleasures and comforts of this world, but to strip away our selfishness, pride, greed, and anger is a painful process. We fear God because he is holy, and we are not; but more importantly, we’re afraid because we want to be holy, and we know that it won’t be an easy process.
Finally, Dr. Thigpen suggests that we fear God because he is a God of justice. We know that we are guilty of sin, and if we’re established on the Christian path, we know that we are in need of conversion. God’s justice challenges us to be better people, but we know that God is capable of punishing us if we do not do as he asks. St. Catherine of Siena observed that the fear of God often starts like the fear that servants have of their masters: the fear of punishment. But as our relationship with God grows and develops, the fear of God becomes more like the fear of friends, fear that something will come between us and break our relationship apart.
Fear of God is an important part of our Christian life. But remember back to what happened in today’s gospel after the disciples shrank down in fear: Jesus touched them and said, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” As they stood, they looked up and saw Jesus. Perfect love casts out fear; God’s presence can take away our fear, but a certain type of fear, the fear of God, helps us remember that God is God and we are not. What are you afraid of?
See the article “Loving God, Fearing God” by Dr. Paul Thigpen. Dr. Thigpen will be speaking at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church on Saturday, April 19, 2008.
4 comments:
Both of these questions, "What makes you happy?" and "What are you afraid of?" are thought provoking. This is what Lent is about, searching our souls to come to know ourselves as God sees us. Thank you Father Eric for making me think on a deeper level.
I just wanted to let Father Eric know how much I enjoyed the presentation on the history of Eucharistic Liturgy on February 19. Your comments provided much insight into why we do what we do in the church. I look forward to the next two presentations! dag
Off and on for many years friends have asked me "how do you reconcile Fear of the Lord with Loving the Lord?" Your homily (based on Dr. Thigpen's writing) really said it well: that fear changes from 'fear of punishment' to a fear between friends: of 'breaking apart a friendship with another'. In thinking of it this way, I have come to see it operating during times of repentance for sin . . . feeling sorry, not because I was going to be punished, but because I had failed someone Who loves me. It is then that Christ can touch and heal that in me which seems powerless to resist sin, and in seeking forgiveness, I can be given grace to choose better next time. May we all be blessed by Fear of the Lord.
This is in response to dag's comment. Ditto on the presentation of the History of Catholic Liturgy on Tuesday evening. One of your many gifts is definitely being a good teacher. Your summary of the first 700 + years of Church liturgical history was amazing and presented in a way that all could understand. Thank you for taking the time to prepare this for us.
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