A Reflection for Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
Quick, name the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. I’ll wait if you have to Google it.
To be honest, I can’t name them by memory either, and I have to teach them every year to a group of eighth graders preparing for Confirmation. Most of them are pretty easy to explain to 13-year-olds—wisdom, charity and the like. But one of them always presents a challenge, and it’s taken from today’s Psalm.
Fear of the Lord—how do you explain that one to a member of Gen Z?
I start by explaining that it is something like respect, although that word always seems insufficient. But after reflecting on today’s readings, I think I may have a better answer for next year.
Let’s look at another stanza from Psalm 112, one that we don’t read today:
He shall not fear an ill report;
his heart is steadfast, trusting the LORD.
His heart is tranquil, without fear,
till at last he looks down on his foes.
Blessed are those who fear the Lord, for he is….without fear.
Now this seems important.
If you fear the Lord, or trust him so much that you delight in his every command, then your heart will be “tranquil, without fear.” In other words, to live without fear all you have to do is… fear the Lord.
My students know something about fear and anxiety. But what if they came to understand that there is a way out of that fear, and that it begins by recognizing the awesomeness of God and putting their full faith in him?
Of course, that’s a lesson that may take a lifetime to understand. And how it works in practice can be hard to explain, much less live out. But today’s Gospel offers a way in.
On the surface, the reading from Matthew can seem like a lengthy to-do list from Jesus. Give alms, but do it in secret. Fast, but don’t make it obvious. Do this, not that. If you did not have a personal relationship with Jesus, one grounded in trust and reverence, you might question these commands.
But if you truly fear the Lord, then all you need to do is focus on what he is saying. Everything else is just noise.
