Visible Traces

The Scripture:                                                                                       Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Whisperings:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."

This prayer is called the Shema, and it is prayed at the beginning and end of every day by observant Jews. (It is traditionally prayed while covering or closing one’s eyes.) The Shema reveals God’s commandment to us in two distinct parts. First, it begs us to hear the proclamation that the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. It exhorts us to remember that we must worship only one God, not many.  It reminds us that God must be the first priority in our lives. The second part is just as important: God demands that we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls and might.  This indicates a need for an ongoing relationship with God, not just a “once in a while” drive thru visit.

So, in this short prayer, there are actually two powerful imperatives: a command to hear and a command to love. How do we do that?  In verses 6-9, Moses outlines three specific ways to accomplish the tasks of hearing and loving God: 

1. First, we must commit these words to our hearts.  How different would our lives be if we recommitted ourselves to God each and every morning upon awakening and every evening before going to bed? 
2. Second, scripture tells us to recite these words to our children and talk about them both at home and in the world. How are we doing with that? Are we passing down the vital message of God’s love to our children and to our neighbors?
3. And third, we are told to make God known to the world with visual reminders.  “Wearing it” on our shirtsleeves may not be feasible for us, but the intent here is to place the very fact of God, to place the Shema itself, in the midst of our lives as a reminder for all people. It’s not about how many crosses you tie around your neck, or how many fish decals you stick on your car. Instead, this part of the passage asks us to place the idea of the Shema “out there” –  in our actions and way of life. How do we leave visible traces of God in the marketplace?
4. 
   
   How goes it for you?

Prayer for Times of Conflict: O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.                                                    Book of Common Prayer, pg. 824

It has been a divisive election year. The television ads have been particularly unsettling, not because they were simply derogatory, but because they took statements and actions utterly out of context, and named them "truth." Pilate was right when he asked, "What is truth?" (John 18:38).

Whether your candidate won or lost, whether today you are feeling jubilant or depressed, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are bound together in a common life. We are called by our Lord God to bind up the broken hearted, to strive for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being. We are called to be Christ's hands and hearts in the world: to seek out and serve all people, but particularly those who are poor, weak, sick, or lonely.

· Who, this week, needs an encouraging word?
· Who, this week, needs food or shelter?
· Who, this week, needs your time or your attention.

Let's get on with the business of our common life. God has a world in need of your heart and hands. 

For Bob...

This week, one of my dearest friends was killed; accidentially, tragically. He was watching his wife and her team row crew in Portland, Oregon.  He was standing on a bridge. He waved to her as her boat went under the bridge. Then, he turned to cross the bridge to watch her boat emerge from the other side, but he never made it. Crossing the bridge, he was struck by a car and killed instantly.  

Grief is a funny thing. I somehow cannot bear to put up a picture of Bob on this page, but I can put up an example of how love helps us through the darkest of days. It is proof positive that God is there with us in our triumphs and in our tragedies. The picture above is of Cynthia's crew team. You, see, they didn't wallow in the tragedy that occurred, they acted. Someone decided that their very next race would have every team member wearing shirts remembering Bob.  It was a way to show solidarity with one of their teammates. It was a way to keep moving forward, even when the world seems to have stopped.  

They raced. They won. They held up Bob's wife in her grief by doing what only they could do. By proclaiming that Bob was there, that Bob lived, that Bob would not be forgotten. Not only would he not be forgotten, he would be celebrated. 

I love you Bob. Still.