From Fear to the Fear of the Lord

At times, we all become physically and emotionally exhausted. Uncertainty and fear are part of our human experience. In this respect, we are not so different from the saints and prophets, including Elijah in the first reading.

Elijah arrives at Mount Horeb as a frightened and exhausted man. Queen Jezebel has threatened his life, and the prophet who had courageously stood against the prophets of Baal is now fleeing into the wilderness. Eventually, he takes shelter in a cave. Fear has narrowed his world. He can see only the danger before him, the apparent failure of his prophetic ministry, and his own loneliness. One of fear’s most damaging effects is that it creates distance—distance between us and others, and even between us and God.

At Horeb, however, God calls Elijah out of the cave—his shelter and his place of fear—and tells him to stand before the Lord. A powerful wind passes by, followed by an earthquake and a fire. Each of these could have intensified Elijah’s fear, yet the Lord is not present in any of them.

Then Elijah hears the sound of a gentle breeze. Recognising God’s presence, he covers his face with his cloak and goes to the entrance of the cave. There he experiences another kind of fear—not the fear that drives him away, but a holy fear that draws him closer: the fear of the Lord.

The “fear of the Lord” is very different from ordinary fear. It does not create distance between God and us. Rather, it leads us to approach God with reverence, wonder, and trust in his greatness and goodness.

Ordinary fear says, “The danger before me is the greatest power.” The fear of the Lord says, “God is greater, and I can entrust myself to him.” It does not deny that danger is real; rather, it changes which voice has the final authority over our lives.

We see this holy fear and trust in Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, whose solemnity we celebrated on Saturday. Her pastoral ministry to educate poor and isolated children was never easy. She experienced poverty, uncertainty, criticism, and conflict. Because of painful misunderstandings within the Church, she was even excommunicated for a time, although the excommunication was later lifted.

Mary could have allowed fear, anger, or discouragement to close her heart and bring her mission to an end. Instead, she continued to pray, forgive, trust in God, and serve those in need.

Saint Mary was not courageous because nothing frightened her. She was courageous because her reverence for God and her trust in his providence became stronger than her fear of rejection, blame, or failure. Her well-known words, “Never see a need without doing something about it,” reveal a heart that was not paralysed by fear. She listened for God’s gentle voice and then took the next faithful step.

We all have our own caves: anxiety about our health, family, finances, future, or what others may think of us. God does not shame us when we retreat into those places. He meets us there, just as he met Elijah, and gently calls us to step out.

Through prayer, silence, Scripture, and the Eucharist, we learn to hear a voice that is deeper and truer than our anxiety. Let us, therefore, come out of our own caves of fear and walk in the light of Christ, which always shines upon us, with our parish family.

Peace, Fr Minje