Shema
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-7
The above verses compile what the Jewish people calls the “Shema” from the Hebrew word meaning “hear.” This prayer is central to the Jewish people and it should be central to Christians too. If you read it closely it should make you think of something in the Gospels. Jesus used this in His answer when He was asked what was the Greatest Commandment. In some ways this prayer serves as the hinges of the day for the People. In this prayer — which is really a confession of faith, too, a creed if you will — the people acknowledge who God is (their ONE and ONLY God) and they are reminded to love God with their entire being and to teach this to their children at all times. To someone who is not Jewish or Christian may read this and think “Wow, this god seems to make himself the center of everything. How selfish and arrogant!” But to someone of faith, to someone who has encountered God and experienced His love and mercy, this ancient prayer arises out of thanksgiving and gratitude.
Moses had to say this and remind the people of this because they were a “stiff-necked people,” who always seemed to forget where they were and how far they have come, and not by their own “luck” or efforts, but solely because of God and His love for them. This is not because God is arrogant and need people to praise Him, but because God wants the people to live life to the fullest and for that life to be filled with hope, joy, and peace. Think about it. When we really know and believe that we have a God who loves us conditionally, who forgives us not just once but infinitely, and who comes to us continually, and when we live our lives knowing this, how can our lives be anything other than filled us joy and thanksgiving?
And so, the Shema was not meant to control the people but rather to lead them to true freedom. In the same way, the Church and all that she teaches is not meant to control us or hold us down, but rather to liberate us from the chains that hold us down, the chains that prevent us from being fully alive, fully free. All that the Church teaches is meant to draw us deeper in love with the God who has created us in His image and likeness and who has loved us from all eternity. But if we approach this simply from an intellectual perspective, it will make no sense. However, if we approach this truth being our entire beings — mind, body, and soul — it still might not make sense (with reason), but we will know that there is no other way to live but this way, and any other way will only lead us to unfulfillment and sadness. Today, may we pray this ancient prayer, the Shema, and pray it everyday, and throughout the day because although today it may just be a recitation of words, but I guarantee you, if you persevere, it will become the very words that transform your life.
