Sermon 348
SERMO 348
Of the Fear of God
Strength founded in the fear of God. Fear to be driven out by love.
I do not doubt, beloved brothers, that the fear of God is instilled in your hearts, by which you may be led to true and solid fortitude. For indeed, while he is called brave who fears no one, he is wrongly brave who does not wish to first fear God, so that by fearing he may listen, by listening he may love, and by loving he may not fear. Then he will be truly most brave, not through proud hardness, but through secure justice. Thus it is also written: The fear of the Lord is the hope of strength. For when the punishment that He threatens is feared, the reward that He promises is learned to be loved: and thus through fear of punishment a good life is maintained; through a good life a good conscience is acquired, so that through a good conscience no punishment is feared. Therefore, let him learn to fear who does not wish to fear. Let him learn to be anxious for a time, who wishes to be secure forever. As John says: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. Indeed, he said this, and he spoke truly. Therefore, if you do not wish to have fear, first see whether you already have perfect love, which casts out fear. But if before attaining this perfection, fear is excluded, it is pride that inflates, not love that builds up. For just as in good health hunger is driven away not by disdain but by food; so in a good mind fear must not be driven away by vanity, but by love.
On the proper love of God and neighbor by which fear is to be cast out.
Therefore, examine your conscience, whoever no longer wishes to fear. Do not grasp the surface, descend into yourself, penetrate the inner parts of your heart. Investigate diligently whether any poisoned vein there sucks and absorbs the decaying love of the world, whether you are moved and captured by no lure of carnal pleasure, whether you are swelled up with no empty boastfulness, whether you burn with no care of vanity: dare to announce that you see yourself pure and clear, whatever you scrutinize in the recesses of your conscience, from deeds, words, or evil thoughts. If now the diligence of iniquity does not weary you, ensure that no negligence of equity creeps in. If these things are so, rightly do you rejoice, rejoice in being without fear. The love of God, whom you love with all your heart, soul, and mind, would have expelled it. The love of your neighbor, whom you love as yourself, would have also expelled it: and therefore, you strive for your neighbor too, so that he also loves God with all his heart, soul, and mind with you. For you cannot rightly love yourself unless you love God so that you do not love Him less because you turn to yourself. But if, although you are not stirred by any desire within yourself (which indeed, who would dare to boast?), yet if you love yourself in yourself, and you are pleased with yourself, you ought to fear this more vehemently, because you fear nothing. For fear is to be cast out not by any kind of love, but by the right love with which we love God wholly, and because of this, our neighbor, so that he also loves God. But to love oneself in oneself, and to be pleased with oneself, is not the charity of justice but the vanity of pride. Hence the Apostle justly rebuked those who love and are pleased with themselves. Therefore perfect charity casts out fear. But it must be called charity, which is not cheapness. What is cheaper than a man without God? See what he loves, who loves himself not in God but in himself. Rightly is it said to him: Do not be arrogant, but fear. For since he is arrogant, and therefore does not fear, he perniciously does not fear, who is not placed on solid ground but is blown by the wind of pride. Neither is he mild and pious, who loves and praises himself in himself: but he is haughty and fierce, not knowing how to say: My soul will be praised in the Lord; let the meek hear, and be glad. For what good does he love, who perhaps loves this: to fear nothing? He can persuade himself of this, not by soundness, but by monstrosity. For example, there is an audacious robber, the more perversely strong he is, the more dangerously cruel, who, because of his love with which he loves to fear nothing, undertakes enormous crimes so that he may practice what he loves and strengthen it by practicing: the greater his crimes, the greater will be his boldness of not fearing. Therefore, this should not be loved as a great good, which can be found even in the worst man.
The Epicureans and Stoics boast that they neither suffer pain nor fear.
Therefore, the philosophers of this world are to be ridiculed, not just the Epicureans, who hold even justice for sale at the price of bodily pleasure. For they say that the wise person should be just in order to either acquire or retain bodily pleasure. Indeed, they boast themselves as being very brave and claim to fear nothing at all, because they believe that God does not concern Himself with human affairs, and that after this life is spent, no future one will follow. And if any adversity happens to them in this life, they think themselves protected because, when they cannot possess bodily pleasure in the body, they can still think about it in their mind, and by pleasing themselves with that thought, they preserve the happiness of bodily pleasure even against the assault of bodily pain. Does not love also cast out fear among these people? But it is the love of the most sordid pleasure, or rather, the love of the most disgraceful vanity. For when pain attacking the body has driven out that pleasure from its members, it remains in the mind through its false image of vanity. Such vanity is loved so much that when a vain person embraces it with all the strength of their heart, even the savageness of pain is mitigated. Therefore, not only these individuals are to be ridiculed, but also the Stoics themselves. For these two sects of Epicureans and Stoics, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, dared to boast their smoke against the light of our Paul. For the Stoics also hold themselves to be the bravest and claim to fear nothing, not for the sake of bodily pleasure, but for the virtue of the mind, swollen with pride, not healed by wisdom, but hardened by error. They are less and less healthy to the extent that they believe their sick soul can be healed by themselves. They think this is the health of the mind, that the wise person should not have compassion. For if he has compassion, they say, he grieves; and what grieves is not healthy. O foolish blindness! What if he grieves the less he is healthy? For it makes a difference whether he does not grieve because of perfect health, like the body and soul of the saints will be in the resurrection of the dead, which they do not believe; because they have ignorant teachers, even when they have themselves. Therefore, it makes a difference whether one does not grieve owing to health or owing to stupor. For according to the health of this mortality, sound flesh when pricked, grieves. Such is also the mind properly affected in this life, which, stung by another's misery, is moved with compassion. But flesh, numb from a worse disease, or even dead having lost its spirit, does not grieve when pricked: such is the mind of these people who philosophize without God, or rather, are suffocated. For as the body is inspired by the soul, so the soul itself lives inspired by God. Let these people see, therefore, who do not grieve nor fear, lest they be not healthy, but dead.
Two kinds of fear: one fear to be cast out, the other to remain.
Let the Christian fear, before perfect love casts out fear: let him believe and understand that he is a sojourner away from the Lord as long as he lives in a body which is corrupted and weighs down the soul. Let fear be lessened by how much closer the homeland we are heading towards is. For greater fear should be amongst travelers, less for those who are getting closer, and none for those who have arrived. Thus, fear leads to love, and perfect love casts out fear. Let the Christian not fear those who kill the body and afterwards have nothing more to do; but rather Him who has the power to kill both body and soul in the fire of hell. There is, however, another fear of the Lord, chaste and enduring forever. Therefore, perfect love does not cast out this fear, otherwise it would not endure forever; nor is it in vain that when it was said: the fear of the Lord, the word chaste was added; and thus it was joined: enduring forever. Why? Unless because that fear, which love casts out, pricks the soul lest something be lost which is loved in the creature, or bodily health and rest itself, or something such after death. Therefore, the punishments and pains and torments of hell are feared in the lower regions. But when the soul fears lest God forsake it, there is a chaste fear enduring forever. About which I would speak at greater length, but the discourse has already grown longer and would compel me to spare my aged strength and possibly your satisfaction.