I’ve never understood the appeal of horror movies. Something to remind us of the terrors of living in the world, just seems redundant in a way. Are there things out there that can get you? Well, yeah. Ask any parent paying attention to the world out there how comfortable they feel sending their kids out to play. But do I need to be reminded of it when I go to a movie? Heck, no. Do I need to see all the ways that the human body could suffer pain and dismemberment? Please, no. Do I need to see buckets of special effects blood and gore splattered across the screen with gleeful abandon? Urp, no. A thousand times no.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote in this space about bodies and lovemaking as reflected in the Song of Songs and how we in the church are squeamish about that subject. I mentioned how some people call the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated pornographic. Well, frankly, I believe that horror movies and depictions of violence and destruction are much more pornographic that pictures of human bodies, that blood and gore is much more pornographic than sex and love, even in its physical manifestations.
But that’s just me, I realize that. Maybe I’m just a scaredy-cat. Maybe it just frightens me too much. We live in an age where we push and push, get more extreme, go to the edge, try to find more and more to scare us. We drive around with “No Fear” decals on the back windows of our trucks. We wear “No Fear” t-shirts. We stand up against our enemies with swagger and defiance. We shake our fists at the elements and dare them to try their best. Bravery is so highly prized that things like prudence and discretion seem like weaknesses these days. We don’t want to be seen as somehow less than manly, somehow less than confident in our ability to control our every situation. Fear is the enemy that makes us weak. “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!”
It is in this atmosphere that I read the question submitted and chosen for this week. We turn from specific questions about the bible to more general questions about theology and church and faith. For the month of August we are taking a wide-ranging look at some of the questions on the hearts and minds of the congregation at Aldersgate Community United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne Indiana. Are they representative of questions elsewhere? I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe they are unique to this community at this time. I have spent far too much time trying to figure all that stuff out. And maybe I ought to just focus on the question itself and quit worrying so much about a larger context.
Except that it is the larger context that gives meaning and direction, even if it isn’t able to completely discern the origin of the question in the mind of the questioner. Take the question that set me off on a commentary about horror movies: “What is meant by “to fear Christ”?”
Of course the simplest answer to this question is that nowhere in scripture does the phrase “fear Christ” appear. We are not called to fear Christ at all. So, just let it go, dear questioner. Not a problem, you’ve been misinformed.
Except that there is that uncomfortable concept throughout the scriptures inviting us, no, commanding us to “fear the Lord.” Jesus Christ is Lord, that is true. But since the most common uses of the phrase are found in the Old Testament, I would think that the object of this fear is supposed to be God. And yet how does this make sense when Jesus came to tell us that God is a loving father who seeks after lost sheep and rejoices over prodigals returned?
Maybe, we argue, it is a concept we have outgrown. Something that was necessary when the people of God were in their infancy, or even their rebellious adolescence. But now that we have matured, now that we know Christ, fear is one of those things we can abandon, like a toy we have no use for, like a method of discipline that no longer works. That makes sense. We’ve grown beyond fear. So, let it go. Let go and let God, we say blithely, ready to trust that all manner of things will be well.
Except it isn’t, not all the time anyway. Sometimes we are hurt, and sometimes we cause our own hurt because of what seemed like a good idea at the time. We hurt because of choices. Our choices, made with ultimate freedom and no fear.
I went to one of those passages where we are invited to fear the Lord to be the ground of our worship this week. And I was surprised by what I found. The fear was translated out. Take a look:
Joshua 24:14-24 "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." 16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God." 19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." 21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the LORD!" 22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses." 23 He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." 24 The people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and him we will obey."
One commentator wrote of how we have domesticated this passage. We needlepoint Joshua’s words and hang them in our hallways. They are presented as a happy choice in a world of choices. Like choosing your favorite flavor of ice cream, or which movie you are going to see. You choose that which will give you the most joy, the most fun, the most comfortable life. Yet, Joshua seems to be saying something more, something deeper. I remember his opening words being “now therefore fear the Lord.” Revere sounds better, nicer, safer. But as Joshua points out later in his conversation, serving the Lord is no walk in the park. Or no slow cruise down a straight road. It’s more of a white knuckled roller coaster ride with the constant concern that the wheels just might be lifting off the track.
Maybe we need to rethink the word fear. Maybe it shouldn’t be the boogie man hiding in the dark closet kind of fear, but like the warnings trying to keep us alert as we do any of a number of risky things every day of our lives. Maybe doing away with fear, as we would like to, makes us complacent about our relationship with God, like it is no big deal, “no worries mate” kind of blase approach. But embracing the fear of the Lord keeps us alert to danger signs, keeps our hands inside the vehicle at all times, keeps us buckled in and safe as we can be when we are hurtling around as high rates of speed inside metal boxes that could take our lives away in an instant if we stopped paying attention. Maybe our life with God is like that. So, Joshua wasn’t saying live scared of God, but was instead inviting them to pay attention to the promises they make, to take seriously the commitment they offer to the One who holds their lives in hand. Maybe Joshua is simply saying this is serious stuff we are dealing with here, don’t assume you can treat this like acceptance agreement on your favorite software. Instead, he says, you are putting your life on the line. You are giving your all. All, for heaven’s sake. Don’t do that lightly.
We should tremble a little bit when we come to worship, knowing that we haven’t been too good at keeping our end of the deal. We should pray those prayers of confession with a line of sweat on our brows. And not just assume it’s no big deal. Cause in the end, that is what the fear of the Lord says, your life is a big deal. Treat it so.
Shalom,
Derek
A couple of weeks ago I wrote in this space about bodies and lovemaking as reflected in the Song of Songs and how we in the church are squeamish about that subject. I mentioned how some people call the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated pornographic. Well, frankly, I believe that horror movies and depictions of violence and destruction are much more pornographic that pictures of human bodies, that blood and gore is much more pornographic than sex and love, even in its physical manifestations.
But that’s just me, I realize that. Maybe I’m just a scaredy-cat. Maybe it just frightens me too much. We live in an age where we push and push, get more extreme, go to the edge, try to find more and more to scare us. We drive around with “No Fear” decals on the back windows of our trucks. We wear “No Fear” t-shirts. We stand up against our enemies with swagger and defiance. We shake our fists at the elements and dare them to try their best. Bravery is so highly prized that things like prudence and discretion seem like weaknesses these days. We don’t want to be seen as somehow less than manly, somehow less than confident in our ability to control our every situation. Fear is the enemy that makes us weak. “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!”
It is in this atmosphere that I read the question submitted and chosen for this week. We turn from specific questions about the bible to more general questions about theology and church and faith. For the month of August we are taking a wide-ranging look at some of the questions on the hearts and minds of the congregation at Aldersgate Community United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne Indiana. Are they representative of questions elsewhere? I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe they are unique to this community at this time. I have spent far too much time trying to figure all that stuff out. And maybe I ought to just focus on the question itself and quit worrying so much about a larger context.
Except that it is the larger context that gives meaning and direction, even if it isn’t able to completely discern the origin of the question in the mind of the questioner. Take the question that set me off on a commentary about horror movies: “What is meant by “to fear Christ”?”
Of course the simplest answer to this question is that nowhere in scripture does the phrase “fear Christ” appear. We are not called to fear Christ at all. So, just let it go, dear questioner. Not a problem, you’ve been misinformed.
Except that there is that uncomfortable concept throughout the scriptures inviting us, no, commanding us to “fear the Lord.” Jesus Christ is Lord, that is true. But since the most common uses of the phrase are found in the Old Testament, I would think that the object of this fear is supposed to be God. And yet how does this make sense when Jesus came to tell us that God is a loving father who seeks after lost sheep and rejoices over prodigals returned?
Maybe, we argue, it is a concept we have outgrown. Something that was necessary when the people of God were in their infancy, or even their rebellious adolescence. But now that we have matured, now that we know Christ, fear is one of those things we can abandon, like a toy we have no use for, like a method of discipline that no longer works. That makes sense. We’ve grown beyond fear. So, let it go. Let go and let God, we say blithely, ready to trust that all manner of things will be well.
Except it isn’t, not all the time anyway. Sometimes we are hurt, and sometimes we cause our own hurt because of what seemed like a good idea at the time. We hurt because of choices. Our choices, made with ultimate freedom and no fear.
I went to one of those passages where we are invited to fear the Lord to be the ground of our worship this week. And I was surprised by what I found. The fear was translated out. Take a look:
Joshua 24:14-24 "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." 16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God." 19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." 21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the LORD!" 22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses." 23 He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." 24 The people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and him we will obey."
One commentator wrote of how we have domesticated this passage. We needlepoint Joshua’s words and hang them in our hallways. They are presented as a happy choice in a world of choices. Like choosing your favorite flavor of ice cream, or which movie you are going to see. You choose that which will give you the most joy, the most fun, the most comfortable life. Yet, Joshua seems to be saying something more, something deeper. I remember his opening words being “now therefore fear the Lord.” Revere sounds better, nicer, safer. But as Joshua points out later in his conversation, serving the Lord is no walk in the park. Or no slow cruise down a straight road. It’s more of a white knuckled roller coaster ride with the constant concern that the wheels just might be lifting off the track.
Maybe we need to rethink the word fear. Maybe it shouldn’t be the boogie man hiding in the dark closet kind of fear, but like the warnings trying to keep us alert as we do any of a number of risky things every day of our lives. Maybe doing away with fear, as we would like to, makes us complacent about our relationship with God, like it is no big deal, “no worries mate” kind of blase approach. But embracing the fear of the Lord keeps us alert to danger signs, keeps our hands inside the vehicle at all times, keeps us buckled in and safe as we can be when we are hurtling around as high rates of speed inside metal boxes that could take our lives away in an instant if we stopped paying attention. Maybe our life with God is like that. So, Joshua wasn’t saying live scared of God, but was instead inviting them to pay attention to the promises they make, to take seriously the commitment they offer to the One who holds their lives in hand. Maybe Joshua is simply saying this is serious stuff we are dealing with here, don’t assume you can treat this like acceptance agreement on your favorite software. Instead, he says, you are putting your life on the line. You are giving your all. All, for heaven’s sake. Don’t do that lightly.
We should tremble a little bit when we come to worship, knowing that we haven’t been too good at keeping our end of the deal. We should pray those prayers of confession with a line of sweat on our brows. And not just assume it’s no big deal. Cause in the end, that is what the fear of the Lord says, your life is a big deal. Treat it so.
Shalom,
Derek
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