Thirst for the Law of God
Thirst for the Law of God[1]
Cheriyan Menacherry
The desire for knowledge, to know, if possible, more than what God knows, was the origin of sin. The first parents of humankind wanted to “become wise” (Gen 3:6), and, therefore, disobeyed God and committed sin. It can be sarcastically said that the first parents did not know what the Book of Proverbs says about right wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,…”. (Prov 9:10). One can have all the knowledge in the world, but he who has no fear of God does not even have the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs are even more radical, no fear of God means one has even no knowledge and such a one is a fool: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Prov 1:7).
What is the meaning of this ‘fear of God’? Much may think that the fear of God is easy to explain; it is just like the fear of all other dangerous things. There is not much to explain. Fear of God is simply within us.
Fear of God, instead, is not like the fear of an attack by a powerful enemy. Nor like the fear of grave sickness or accident or disaster. Nor is it the fear of a guilty conscience. You don’t have to learn all these kinds of fears. It is instinctively present in everyone, not only in the human beings but also in animals. An infant gets frightened when it suddenly hears a loud bang. For this kind of fear, the child does not need an experience of war. People fear they are weak. The weaker you feel, the more afraid you are. In the forest, a deer and a lion fear differently.
Fear is not something you have to learn. This is the significant difference between the general fear and the fear of God. The fear of God is not instinctive, like the other fears. It does not come from our fearful nature. The psalmist says that fear of God must be learned and calls out: “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” (Ps 34:11).
How can the fear of God be learned? Proverbs give an answer. It does not come just like that. People have to search for it intensively: “if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures— then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Prov 2:4-5).
The fear of God must be learned and gained. One learns the fear of God by constantly obeying God’s commandments. In the same way, Moses said to Israel, “…O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees….” (Dt 10:12-13). This would mean that people must know God’s laws. How can we know God’s laws without reading the Bible?
Pope Francis recommended that the Bible should always be carried with us, like a cell phone. He appealed: “…you have to become familiar with the Bible, read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it…. what would happen if we treated the Bible like we treat our cell phone? If we always carried it with us; or at least the small pocket-sized Gospel, what would happen?”[2]
The encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, is a classic teaching of the law of Jesus. Jesus did not simply give her the living water. The woman had misunderstood the living water that Jesus wanted to give. The woman said: “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?” (Jn 4:11).
This encounter can be better understood with the meaning of living water in the Old Testament: The law is often compared to living water. In the Book of Sirach we read: “All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God, the law that Moses commanded us…. It overflows, like the Pishon, with wisdom, and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits. It runs over, like the Euphrates, with understanding, and like the Jordan at harvest time. It pours forth instruction like the Nile, like the Gihon at the time of vintage.” (Sir 24:23-27).
Living water is the law of God, the instruction of the living God. Jesus did not simply give this water to the woman. Jesus teaches her slowly. He waits until she demands this water from Him. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10). “And the woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water.” (John 4:15). One must have the craving, the thirst for God’s law and God’s wisdom!
[1] Cheriyan Menacherry, “Thirst for the Law of God” from Cheriyan Menacherry, ‘Black Lives Matter’, Myopia of Humanity: Engaging the Words of Jesus. Mauritius: Blessed Hope Publishing, 2021, pp.17-19.
[2]Vatican City, Mar 5, 2017, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/do-you-read-the-bible-as-often-as-you-check-your-phone-francis-asks-38236