The shema

With All That I Am

Posted on by Betsy

Wedding season is upon us and I am remembering all the weddings I have officiated in the past. Couples really want to put their own stamp on the ceremony, but most will request the more traditional elements of the wedding such as Scripture, prayers, and vow exchanges. In our United Methodist wedding service, we actually do vows twice. The first is the standard “I do” sayings of commitment, and the second are the ring vows taken as the couple exchanges wedding rings. The ring vows get me EVERY TIME. Even though I have officiated hundreds of weddings, (this is where you end up when you are 1. old and 2. live in a popular wedding destination) I still tear up every time I instruct the couple to repeat this after me: “I give you this ring as a sign of my vow and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you.”

With all that I am.

With all that I have.

Those simple phrases contain a tremendous pledge of commitment, stating that the couple are head over heels, completely sold out, one hundred percent, IN.

Our scripture today is known as the Shema in Hebrew. Shema means “to hear.” It is a declaration that the Lord is the only one true God and we are instructed to be all in with God and God’s Word. With all of your heart, your entire being, every ounce of strength, you are commanded to be solely dedicated to God and God alone. Like a poker player pushing all his chips across the table, there is no turning back.

Deuteronomy 6 (Common English Bible)

4 Israel, listen! Our God is the Lord! Only the Lord!

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. 6 These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. 7 Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol.  9 Write them on your house’s doorframes and on your city’s gates.

Teaching the children about the Lord is an important part of this passage. It is good for parents to realize that the task of educating their kids about God’s Word is not just the work of the church, but must be done at home every day. Parents, are you doing that?

In the Jewish tradition, the instruction to tie God’s words to your hand resulted in the use of the phylactery, a small leather box that contained a parchment of Scriptures that was tied with leather straps. Similarly, the mezuzah was created to post Scripture on the doorpost of the house. It was a long leather box with a parchment rolled up inside. These are intended to be visible signs of a household dedicated to studying Scripture every single day. It was God’s intention that the words be inscribed on the head and heart in such a way that the student would never stray from them. Constant repetition is how we learn, and the Shema is recited twice a day for this reason.

This passage reveals the very nature of God. God is love, and so God’s children, made in God’s image, are commanded to love. Jesus called the commandment to love God with all your heart the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-38. And the second greatest commandment naturally follows: Love your neighbor. (Matthew 22:39)

When we learn to love as God loves and love whom God loves, then we will truly be all in. How about you? Do you love the Lord with all that you are and all that you have? May we grow deeper in our understanding of this commandment.

All In by Kathy Schumacher

Listen!

Posted on by Betsy

I have always loved the Olympic Games. It is fun to watch all the the media attention that is given to the athletes prior to the first competition. While listening to the promos and background stories one day, I discovered an acronym that threw me off for a minute. I may be the last person in the world to know what it meant. When Simone Biles was described as the “goat” of women’s gymnastics, I was a little offended on her behalf. How could that commentator have possibly compared this incomparable athelete to a barnyard animal? The next day I saw it in print, and I realized that it was spelled G.O.A.T. And of course you already know what I had to learn from Google: G.O.A.T. stands for “greatest of all time.” I guess we didn’t recognize G.O.A.T.s in the marching band when I was growing up. At least not that kind of goat.

Jesus was once asked about which of the commandments was the G.O.A.T. In the twelfth chapter of Mark, he encounters a legal expert who is hoping to trip him up with a trick question. The people around them are leaning in to hear which of the Ten Commandments Jesus will pick. But watch what Jesus does:

Mark 12 (Common English Bible)

28 One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

29 Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Jesus responds by quoting the ”Shema” from the book of Deuteronomy. The word ”shema” means to listen. There is a special meaning in this: not only does he give them the traditional faith prayer of his people, which commands them to listen, but he is also instructing the people around him to listen as he clarifies the greatest commandment. Here is the full text of the Shema:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 New Revised Standard Version).

Jesus instructs them to listen up! First and foremost, love God with all your heart, and soul, and strength.

Then he continues:

 31 The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”

Jews familiar with Scripture would hear the echo of Leviticus:

 Leviticus 19:18; “Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” (ERV)

Jesus’ response is a beautiful rendering of the Ten Commandments in two statements. The first statement blends the first through the fourth commandments, which address our relationship with God. The second statement combines the fifth through the tenth commandments, which instruct us on how to act toward one another.

Even the legal expert was impressed!

32 The legal expert said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love God with all of the heart, a full understanding, and all of one’s strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is much more important than all kinds of entirely burned offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

In the end, loving God with all that you have and loving your neighbor with all that you are pretty much covers everything. These commandments truly are the G.O.A.T. and we are called to live by them every day.

What can you do today to share your love of God with someone? Where is God calling you to reach out to a neighbor in love and service?

Wherever God leads you, go and do it. Then you can be a goat, too.

Dolphin Tales by Michelle Robertson