The opening text will come from a book by Abraham Joshua Heschel (God in Search of Man - A Philosophy of Judaism). As you are able to see by the title, the language may be a bit dated and therefore, I will, when able, make the language inclusive.
According to the Bible the principal religious virtue is “yirah.” What is the nature of “yirah?” The word has two meanings: fear and awe…
“Fear is the anticipation and expectation of evil or pain, as contrasted with hope which is the anticipation of good. Awe, on the other hand, is the sense of wonder and humility inspired by the sublime or felt in the presence of mystery. Fear is “a surrender of the succors which reason offers”; awe is the acquisition of insights which the world holds in store for us. Awe, unlike fear, does not make us shrink from the awe-inspiring object, but, on the contrary, draws us near to it. This is why awe is compatible with both love and joy.
In a sense, awe is the antithesis of fear.
Heschel points out that a person who fears the Lord because of possible present punishment or of punishment to come is part of an inferior Jewish tradition. It is the awe of God that causes one not to fear no matter what might come. This is so very often the case of preaching in the Church. Too often, there are folks out there who find it absolutely necessary to try and scare people into believing. It is as though the job of the evangelist is to make people afraid of what they will lose or what they will have to endure if they do not make a decision “for God” or “for Christ.” On the other hand, I like to say that Jesus does not scare people into trusting God. Rather the great capacity to love and care and nurture and stand with others attracts people to Jesus…who is God incarnate. Awed by the love of God we are drawn in to that light and new life. Fear certainly does a good job at packing people into worship, but what can be built on fear that cannot be built anywhere else in the world. Even great empires and regimes build their following from fear. We are not nation or regime builders. We are the followers of the Prince of Peace.
Connection: Try to stay alert to how often fear is used to motivate. It doesn’t have to be death-threatening fear…just the air of fear that is tossed out into the room or during an activity. Then, be alert to those moments when love inspires the moment.
Lord of Love, the history of your people is one in which you continue to woo us by your loving kindness. By the power of your Holy Spirit, calm our hearts so that we will hear and be renewed and strengthened by your acts of compassion and love and grace alone. Amen.
happy birthday mom
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