What is reverence before God? It is the sobriety of spirit that stems from an experience of the otherness of God which makes us want to subdue self, remain silent, and to submit. We are overwhelmed by the greatness of God present and are reluctant to spoil the occasion by the intrusion of our own fatuity. Reverence is what Job experienced when the Lord intervened to restore his fortunes (Job 42:1-6). When God is absent, human words and logic seem powerful and convincing. In the presence of God, however, such credibility melts: Job recognizes the foolishness of what he had been saying and withdraws into a silence that is more full of content than any of his windy discussions. Reverence is closer to awe than to fear. It is the recognition of a presence that is larger than oneself.
Michael Casey, OSCO
Sacred Reading, p. 26
