Tuesday 11 April 2023

Background

It is surprising how often a conversation with Jesus or an angel begins, "Do not be afraid".  In the Easter Day reading the angel says when telling of the risen Jesus "Do not be afraid", though the earthquake, blinding lightning, stone removal and lack of a body would be enough to disturb even the most sanguine of us.

The fear that fell on every disciple in Acts 2:43-47 gives us a clue on how to understand  such a feeling.  It is not simply the horror of something terrible, but an overwhelming feeling of awe and wonder. It is the human being encountering the utterly, unimaginably, wonderful moments in life, in nature, relationship, in struggling with ideas, in prayer and worship.  St Augustine of Hippo describes it as ‘chaste fear’. The Greek word, for 'awe' is used to describe this encounter in Acts. It is ‘phobos’ from which we get phobia.

I aspire, when leading worship, to be welcoming, friendly, interesting perhaps even helpful, but I am conscious that I may not hope for much ‘awe and wonder’, and yet our hymns are full of it. I wonder when you were last, "lost in wonder love and praise", as Charles Wesley puts it? I  describe God so poorly sometimes that all that comes over is the stern face of a grumpy miserable do-gooder. 

Awe is a natural human reaction to what God does. Watch Brian Cox talking about the universe! I really believe that Jesus didn’t ask us to worship him, but to obey him, which is why our commitment to justice, love, peace and healing matter so much. But to meet the risen Christ, as Revelations indicates, is to enter the wordless world of worship and adoration! 

To Ponder:

• Have you ever needed to hear "Do not be afraid"?
• When did worship last allow you to grasp a little of the "height, length, breadth and depth" of God’s love (Ephesians 3:18)?