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?