Fear and reverence are often...
Illustration
Fear and reverence are often intertwined in life and relationships. Perhaps this is more frequently seen in times of death and grief than in any other of life's experiences. How is this so? The earliest reference for our English word "fear" was to a disaster or terrible event, but over recent centuries the word has come to refer to a feeling rather than an event. The English word "revere" can be traced back to a Latin word meaning "to hold in awe or fear." Indeed, the title "reverend" is derived from a Latin phrase meaning "to be feared," harking a time when clergy were set apart -- as on a pedestal -- in the public eye as persons to be reckoned with. As time passed in the evolution and use of language, a first response to a frightening event was to revere that which caused the event. So it was within the crowds who beheld Jesus' miracles: fear and reverence were intertwined. -- Saxon
