Teaching Fear

Δεῦτε, τέκνα, ἀκούσατέ μου· φόβον Κυρίου διδάξω ὑμᾶς. Ἐνδιαθέτου διδασκάλου φωνὴ, προσκαλουμένου εἰς μάθησιν διὰ πατρικῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας. Καὶ γὰρ τέκνον ἐστὶ πνευματικὸν τοῦ διδασκάλου ὁ μαθητής. Ὁ γὰρ παρά τινος τὴν μόρφωσιν τῆς εὐσεβείας δεχόμενος, οὗτος οἰονεὶ διαπλάττεται παρ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰς σύστασιν ἄγεται, ὥσπερ καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς κυοφορούσης τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ διαμορφούμενα βρέφη. Ὅθεν καὶ Παῦλος ὅλην τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τῶν Γαλατῶν, ἐκ τῶν προτέρων διαπεσοῦσαν μαθημάτων, καὶ οἰονεὶ ἀμβλωθεῐσαν, πάλιν ἀναλαμβάνων, καὶ μορφῶν ἄνωθεν ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸν Χριστὸν, τέκνα ἔλεγε· καὶ ἐπειδὴ μετ' ὀδύνης καὶ θλίψεως ἐποιεῖτο τῶν ἐσφαλμένων τὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν, ὠδίνειν ἔλεγε τῇ ψυχῇ διὰ  τὴν ἐπὶ τοῐς ἀποπεσοῦσι λύπην. Τεκνία μου, οὒς πάλιν ὠδίνω, ἄχρις οὖ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν. Δεῦτε οὖν, τέκνα, ἀκούσατέ μου. Τί ποτε ἄρα διδάσκειν μέλλει ὁ πνευματικὸς ἡμῶν πατήρ; Φόβον, φησὶ Κυρίου διδάξω ὑμᾶς. Ἐπειδὴ ἄνω προσέταξε φοβεῖσθαι τον Κύριον, καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ φόβου κέρδος ὑπέδειξεν, εἰπὼν, Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὑστέρημα τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτὸν· νῦν καὶ διδασκαλίαν τινὰ τοῦ θείου φόβου ἡμῖν παραδίδωσι. Τὸ μεν γὰρ, ὅτι χρὴ ὑγιαίνειν, παντός ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, καὶ τοῦ ἰδιώτου· τὸ δὲ, πῶς χρὴ κτήσασθαι τὴν ὑγείαν, τοῦτο ἴδιον ἤδη τοῦ τὴν ἰατρικὴν τέχνην ἐπισταμένου. Οὐ πᾶς φόβος ἀγαθόν ἐστι καὶ σωτήριον, ἀλλ' ἔστι τις καὶ ἐχθρὸς φόβος, ὄν ἀπεύχεται ὁ Προφήτης ἐγγενέσθαι αὐτοῦ τῇ ψυχῇ, λέγων· Ἀπὸ φόβου ἐχθροῦ ἐξελοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν μου. Ἐχθρὸς γὰρ φόβος ὁ θανάτου ἡμῖν δειλίαν ἐμποιῶν, ὁ προσώπων ὑπεροχὰς καταπτήσσειν ἡμᾶς ἀναπείθων. Πῶς γὰρ ὁ ταῦτα φοβούμενος δυνήσεται ἐν καιρῷ μαρτυρίου μέχρι θανάτου πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀντικαταστῆναι, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι τῷ Κυρίῳ τὴν ὀφειλὴν, τῷ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἐγερθέντι; Καὶ ὁ ὑπὸ δαιμόνων εὐπτόητος τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἔχει φόβον ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Καὶ ὅλως, ὁ τοιοῦτος φόβος ἀπιστίας ἔοικεν ἔγγονον εἶναι πάθος. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ πιστεύων ἰσχυρὸν αὐτῷ παρεῖναι τὸν βοηθὸν φοβεῖται ἀπὸ τινος τῶν ἐπιχειρούντων αὐτὸν ἐκταράσσειν. Φόβος δὲ ὁ σωτήριος, καὶ φόβος ἁγιασμοῦ ποιητικὸς, φόβος ὁ κατ' ἐπιτήδευσιν, καὶ οὐχὶ κατὰ πάθος ἐγγινόμενος τῇ ψυχῇ, ποιός ἐστι βούλει διηγήσωμαι; Ὅταν μέλλῃς ἐπὶ τινα ὁρμᾷν ἁμαρτίαν, ἐννόησόν μοι ἐκεῖνο τὸ φρικτὸν καὶ ἀνύποιστον τοῦ Χριστοῦ δικαστήριον, ἐν ᾦ προκαθέζεται μὲν ἐπὶ θρόνου τινὸς ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμέμουσα τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἔνδοξον· παράγεσθαι δὲ μέλλομεν καθ' ἕνα εἰς ἐξέτασιν τῶν βεβιωμένων ἡμῖν. Εἶτα τῷ πολλὰ πονηρὰ πεποιηκότι κατὰ τὸν βίον φοβεροί τινες καὶ κατηφεῖς παρίστανται ἄγελλοι, πῦρ βλέποντες, πῦρ ἀναπνέοντεσ, διὰ τὴν πικρίαν τῆς προαιρέσεως, νυκτὶ ἐοικότες τὰ πρόσωπα, διὰ τὸ κατηφὲς καὶ μισάνθρωπον. Εἶτα βάραθρον βαθὺ, καὶ σκότος ἀδιεξόδευτον, καὶ πῦρ ἀλαμπές· ἐν τῷ σκότει τὴν μὲν καυστικὴν δύναμιν ἔχον, τὸ δὲ φέγγος ἀφηρημένον. Εἶτα σκωλήκων γένος ἰοβόλον καὶ σαρκοφάγον, ἀπλήστως ἐσθίον, καὶ μηδέποτε κορεννύμενον, ἀφορήτους ὀδύνας ἐμποιοῠν τῇ καταβρώσει. Εἶτα τὴν πασῶν χαλεπωτάτην κόλασιν, τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ τὴν αἰσχύνην τὴν αἰώνιον. Ταῦτα φοβοῦ· καὶ τούτῳ τῳ φόβῳ παιδευόμενος, οἰονεὶ χαλινῷ τινι ἀνάκοπτε τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ τῆς  πρὸς τὰ φαῦλα ἐπιθυμίας. Τοῦτο τὸν φόβον τοῦ Κυρίου διδάσκειν ἡμὰς ὁ πατὴρ ἐπηγγείλατο· οὐχ ἁπλῶς διδάσκειν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ προαιρουμένους· οὐ τοὺς μακρὰν ἀποπεσόντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς δι' ἐπιθυμίαν τοῦ σωθῆναι προστρέχοντας· οὐ τοὺς ξένους τῶν Διαθηκῶν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ βαπτίσματος τῆς υἱπθεσίας οἰκειουμένους τῷ λόγῳ. Διὰ τοῦτο, φησὶ, δεῦτε· τουτέεστι, διὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἐγγίσατέ μοι, τέκνα, υἱοὶ φωτὸς γενέσθαι διὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας καταξιωθέντες. Ἀκούσατε, οἱ ἔχοντες τὰ ὧτα τῆς καρδίας ἀνεῳγμένα· Φόβον Κυρίου διδάξω ὑμᾶς. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον Ψαλμον ΛΓ' Source: Migne PG 29.370a-372c

'Come, O sons, and hear me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord.' 1 This is the voice of the benevolent teacher who with a father's compassion calls to learning. For the pupil is the spiritual child of the teacher. Because he who receives a form of piety from someone, he is shaped by him and joined to him in union, as even in pregnancy infants are formed. Whence Paul named all the church of the Galatians sons, they who had fallen from their prior learning, as if he was restoring what had erred, fashioning them anew in Christ, and with grief and anguish he restored those who had strayed, in a spirit of travailing, saying of himself, because of grief conceived for those who had fallen: 'My little ones, whom again I groan for, until Christ be formed in you.' 2 'Come, O sons, and hear me.' And what does our spiritual father wish to teach us? 'I will teach you the fear of the Lord,' he says. He has exhorted the fear of the Lord, and he has revealed the profit of it in these words, 'Because there is no lack for those who fear him.' 3 So now he gives to us a teaching of Divine fear. For indeed all would say that health is needful, even a simple fellow, but how it is that health is created is the knowledge of him who knows medicine. For not every fear is good and beneficial; there is indeed that fear which the Prophet prays against coming to his soul, saying: 'From the fear of the enemy seize my soul.' 4 The fear of the enemy creates in us the fear of death, which impels us to cower before a powerful person. And how is he who fears this able to resist sin unto death in the time of martyrdom, and pay the debt to the Lord who died for us and was risen? And he who is easily terrified by demons has in himself the fear of the enemy. And truly this fear makes him seem as one born from disbelief in suffering. For not believing that any power will come to his aid, he is gripped by the fear of those who try to terrify him. Do you wish me to tell of the fear which belongs to salvation, the fear which confers sanctity, the fear which is not born by the approach of suffering to the soul but of a wish to endure? When in the future you are driven to some sin, think of the terrible and intolerable tribunal of Christ, where presides that judge on His high and sublime throne, whom truly every creature on account of sight of His glory stand trembling, for this truly is the future to which each one of us will come and undergo examination of all we have done in this life. Then beside him who in this life has done many evils will sit hideous and looming angels, with fire blazing from their eyes, and breathing fire, on account of the bitterness of their hatred, with faces like night, on account of their darkness and hatred of men. Then comes the uttermost depth of impenetrable darkness, which lacks the splendour of fire, yet has a certain burning in its darkness, though lacking all light, where there are certain predatory and flesh eating worms, who are insatiably hungry and never satisfied, who come to feed with intolerable bites, and finally there is the heaviest of all torments: eternal disgrace and shame. This fear of the Lord that father promises to teach us, not indiscriminately teaching, but teaching it to those who wish to listen to him, not to those who have fallen far, but those who on account of the desire of salvation are attentive, not to those who are outside the testament, but those who by the baptism of the word of adoption are joined to him. Thus, he says, 'come', that is, by good works come near to me, sons, worthily clothed, who through regeneration have become sons of light. Hear, you who have the ears of the heart open: 'I will teach you the fear of the Lord.' Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 33 1 Ps 33.12 2 Galat 4.19 3 Ps 33.10 4 Ps 63.2