Selected Sunday Scriptures- #114

In today’s post I want to examine the Fear of the Lord. Otherwise said, it can be scary to find yourself in the presence of God, or his actions. Here are but a few examples from the New Testament:

^22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ^23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ^24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. ^25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ^26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, âIt is a ghost!â And they cried out for fear. ^27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, âTake heart, it is I; have no fear.â

(Matthew 14:22-27)

^11 Soon afterward he went to a city called Naâ²in, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ^12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. ^13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, âDo not weep.â ^14 And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, âYoung man, I say to you, arise.â ^15 And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. ^16 Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, âA great prophet has arisen among us!â and âGod has visited his people!â ^17 And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

(Luke 7:11-17)

^28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ^29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. ^30 And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eliâ²jah, ^31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. ^32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ^33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, âMaster, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eliâ²jahâânot knowing what he said. ^34 As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ^35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, âThis is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!â ^36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

(Luke 9:28-36)

Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magâ²dalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. ^2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. ^3 His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. ^4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

(Matthew 28:1-4)

When we think of God, and Jesus especially, we like to think of a comforting force. Of God as our loving Father, or Jesus as our brother. It is easy for us to forget that power, real power, as displayed by God, is a frightening thing.

Why so? I would wager it frightens us because it isn’t natural. It is supernatural. God’s power and presence defies the “natural order.” It forces us, creatures all too often locked into our material ways, to confront the very real fact that there are forces and powers that we cannot see and cannot hear, and above all else, cannot comprehend.

I am curious what my readers think about the subject. Also, I would appreciate any sayings of the Saints that anyone knows of that address this subject.