Dcn Tom Lindell

Psalm 25  
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
my God, I put my trust in you; *
let me not be humiliated,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
9 All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 Who are they who fear the Lord? *
he will teach them the way that they should choose.
12 They shall dwell in prosperity, *
and their offspring shall inherit the land.
13 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him *
and will show them his covenant.

My brothers and sisters,

Today’s reading from the morning office includes Psalm 25. If read literally, the above passages appear contradictory.

I have often been struck by the word FEAR that is often found in the psalms and in the Old and New Testament. Unfortunately, this word is misunderstood because it is not what we normally relate to in our current lexicon.

I have earmarked a couple of pages in an older book that I value called, The Love Of Learning and The Desire For God: A Study Of Monastic Culture, by Jean Leclercq, OSB, Fordham U. Press 1961, pp 81, 82.

In a chapter on Biblical Imagination, Leclercq cites the vigorous and active role of imagination to monks of the Middle Ages, that permitted them to picture, to “make present,” what they read in Scripture. This biblical vocabulary has a greater value because of its power of suggestion.

Leclercq says that the most important source is the Bible for the study of virtues that have meaning different than contemporary understanding.

For example, he writes that the word FEAR is the same thing as charity (love); it is not at all like fright, or terror of punishment. This loving fear is rather reverence, or respect, engendering peace.

“The only true fear is that of losing the presence of God one loves and whom one wishes to enjoy eternally.” Leclercq describes this word fear as a biblical Hebraism, a word that continues to be traditionally used despite having a completely different meaning as that understood by contemporary readers.

My simple hope is that you might also appreciate a different understanding of the word fear in biblical literature to understand its original intent.

—Dcn Tom