Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 11, 2007 - St. Clare
[Deuteronomy 6:4-13 and Matthew 17:14-20]Moses said to the people: "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 your today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
. The words of Moses from Deuteronomy quoted above are the fundamental Jewish profession of faith. They form the "shema" which is said by any devout Jew upon rising in the morning. As Moses dictated, these words are also "drilled" into their children and are contained in the straps (Phylacteries) around the left arm or in the little pendant on the foreheads of Jews we see in pictures at the wall of the temple in Jerusalem! Jesus refers to these words as one of the greatest commandments of the law (Matthew 22:36-38). So, when it comes to understanding the fundamentals of Jewish faith, this is the bed rock! But it is bedrock for us too since Jesus identifies it as a fundamental of his own preaching. It is one thing to intellectually acknowledge the power of Moses' and Jesus' words, but quite another to "put skin on them." How does one go about loving God with all one's heart, soul and strength? Do we love anyone like that? When we address ourselves to God, do we really experience feelings of love? I am reminded of the cartoon that shows an elderly theology professor in his book-strewn study with a plaque on the wall that reads: "Smile! The great transcendental Other loves you!" Do we separate "love of God" and "love of neighbor" into entirely different experiences because one is, well, God, and the other is, you know, human? Jesus does not separate these in terms of loving. Perhaps we'd better ask ourselves if we do. AMEN