The Fear of God

     Staring out the windows of the fellowship hall, I watched the whitecaps dance atop the ocean. Birds darting back-and-forth, with occasional dive-bombs to the water’s surface, captivated the mind of this eleven-year-old transplant to Southern California. The sermon held no sway compared to God’s orchestration of creation’s movements. Turning my metal folding chair ninety-degrees in order to get a better view was probably not the best idea. “Mister, turn that chair around and pay attention!” I obeyed…reluctantly. An ensuing crick arose in my neck from straining to see the majesty of the poetry unfolding outside.

     The situation disintegrated further after the sermon ended. “Come on Chris. Hurry up. We’re going to see the new sanctuary being built.” Once inside, my eyes zeroed in on the stairs. Like a shot I bolted up, ran across the balcony and back down the other side. On my fourth lap I was stopped abruptly by a hand jerking on the back of my shirt.

     “Young man, do you know where you are?”

     “Yah,” I said…with head tilted and one eyebrow raised.

     “This is God’s house! We do not run in God’s house. If I ever see you running in here again I will put the fear of God in you!”

     With that his bony fingers released my shirt and summarily dismissed me…furrowed brow and beady eyes following me as I slinked out the door.

     So my dark journey into religion continued. The fear of God meant the same thing as the hammer of God to me. Follow the rules and God will be happy…“sit still, don’t talk, close your eyes when you pray, don’t even think about doodling on the collection envelope, and never-ever run!” Fear wracked my mind, constantly on the alert for who was watching and waiting for me to fail.

     What would it have been like for the Mary, the teenage-virgin? What kind of crick did she have in her neck as she waited for the furrowed-brows of unforgiveness and the bony fingers of doom to bear down on her?  Whom could she share Gabriel’s message of an impending pregnancy with in the small-town confines of Nazareth? Parents? Joseph? Friends? Rumors would be the best thing that could happen to an unwed mother. “Sticks and stones” takes on a whole new meaning in this culture where adultery was punishable by death.

     Could this be what compelled this pregnant teen to leave Nazareth and take a potentially hazardous 80-100 mile journey – a three to four day trek?

     “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.” (Luke 1:39-40)

     Elizabeth, of course. Who better to talk to? Well past childbearing years and suddenly pregnant through the miraculous grace of God…the perfect confidante.   

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Vss. 41-45)

     Blessed (Eulogemenos): “The eulogia [from where we get eulogy] of God is His action or intervention in men’s lives to bring them into the desired relationship with Himself.  Eulogemenos is used in joyful salutations [greetings] to indicate that the blessing of the individual is due to God’s intervention in his or her life.”[1] 

     The hope of every Jewish woman was that she would be the mother of the Messiah.  Mary won the lotto. God’s blessing came to rest upon her. Through her womb, the offer of salvation would be birthed to the entire world. And then Mary exhibited what it meant to truly have “the fear of God” put in someone.

     “And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name.   His mercy extends to all those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.’” (Vss. 46-55)

     No pointing to herself. No placing herself above others. Just pure, unadulterated praise about the Mighty One of Israel. Mary’s song centers on the glory of God. Ten times Mary extols what “He has done.” Mary understands that apart from God, she is nothing. “In regard to the Lord, [fear] mean[s] to reverence God, to stand in awe of God…expressing piety, equivalent to worship, adoration of God.”[2] Mary fears God!

      And what does Mary do to celebrate after her song?

     “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.” (v. 56)

     She doesn’t run about spreading the news that “all generations will call me blessed.”  She doesn’t scamper off to spread the news that she alone has been chosen as the mother of the Messiah. No, she stays still and learns from Elizabeth - the wife of a priest, the daughter of a priest. God is at the center of this teenager’s universe.

     May we leave religion behind and follow Mary into halls of praise that flow forth from the fear of God!

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[1] Zodhiates, Spiros (General Editor); The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1992, p. 678.

[2] Ibid, p. 1449.

Cross Training

     Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was an eight-year-old falling out of a fifty-foot tree (yes, the height has since been confirmed by siblings and parents J). Hitting the ground with such force I looked like a goldfish accidentally dumped on the kitchen floor – eyes bulging, flopping side-to-side and puckered lips gasping for air. Yet the very next day I was tagging along behind my older brothers as they exited the front door in search of new adventures in the woods surrounding our neighborhood.

     That’s when the infamous words came from my mother’s lips – words that make every kid cringe: “Wait until you’re older.”

     “Ahh, Mom! I’ll be fine. When’s older? Who decides when I’m ‘old enough’ to do something? When do I get to…?” The questions continued to roll on as my brothers faded out of sight. Shoulders slumped, I shuffled back into the house.

     Who decides these magical ages when a young person is able to perform a task? At what age is a person responsible enough to help care for the life of a child? At what age can a person take on problems that weigh heavily upon the world? At what age is a person able to selflessly give in order to be a blessing to others?

     In one young person from a tiny town, we find all three of these God-given abilities combined:  

     “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.” (Luke 1:26-27)

     Most Jewish girls were pledged to be married by the time they were 12-14 years old.  Mary would barely be eligible to work in many church nurseries – much less be a candidate for the mother of the Messiah in our eyes. Who on earth would choose a teenager to fulfill such an enormous task?

     “The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” (Vss. 28-29)

    “Highly favored? Who? Me?”

     How could a lowly, teenage virgin from the town of Nazareth be the recipient of such a greeting? It was inconceivable to Mary. As a young, unmarried female, Mary had virtually no social status. A person’s standing in the community based on age is nothing new to our day and age.

     But that was just the starting point of her perplexity. For the religious elite of Jerusalem, Galilee was viewed as a repugnant, backwoods area. Galileans were considered ignorant, lower class, inferior Jews. “Nazareth!  Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46) Is it any wonder the teenaged Mary was troubled at the angel’s words? 

     If this greeting alone left Mary disturbed, the rest of the message must have left her feeling like that flopping goldfish gasping for air.

     “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.   You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.   He will be great and called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’” (Vss. 30-34)

     Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Yeshua which means, “Yahweh saves.” “She [Mary] will give birth to a son, and you [Joseph] are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

      Perhaps this only hinted at the Messianic potential of the child to be born. After all, Jesus was a common name. But Mary didn’t have but a nanosecond to ponder the possibility before Gabriel made it crystal clear. “He will be great and called the Son of the Most High…[be given] the throne of his father David…reign over the house of Jacob forever.” The child to be born would be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

     “‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’”

      “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.’” (Vss. 34-37)

     And what was Mary’s response to this miraculous message? 

     “‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.” (v. 38)

     Nice ending, but do you realize what Mary has just agreed to? Christmas greeting cards and paintings of Mary and the Child fail to tell the courage of this mere teen. According to passages like Deuteronomy 22:23-24, Mary was willing to give up her relationship with Joseph, her reputation in Nazareth, and possibly even her life via death by stoning because of her unwed pregnancy – in order to be the Lord’s servant. Mary did you know?

     Did you ever wonder where the child Jesus learned life lessons that would later help him face the cross? Mary’s surrender, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said,” echoed across the years to the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus sweat drops of blood. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) 

     How about you? Are you ready? “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  (Matthew 10:38-39)