Love the Lord Your God – Deuteronomy 6: 1-9

A text – Deuteronomy 6:1-9

⁶ “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, ² so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. ³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷ 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. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

A reflection:

This Old Testament passage is the source Jesus quotes from in our Gospel lesson for this week: “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.” All good Jews knew this passage from Moses. And all observant Jews to this day say it twice a day and recite it to their children and have it written in the small box near the door of their home and in the prayer boxes they wear in worship.

Their spiritual practice every day is meant to keep God at the center of all their relationships. Do you and I have a practice like that? Wouldn’t it be helpful if we did? Then in the face of all the anxiety we face in our daily lives, we would be reminded, at least twice a day, that God loves us and that we will always have God to rely upon. It is like knowing we can look at God when we are troubled – to catch God’s eye and find our refuge and peace there. Jesus wanted to show his followers that when you take time for prayer, for a daily rededication of your heart and mind to the love of God, that you will be able to see and love your neighbor.

How shall we do it? In the morning we might say something like “This is the day that the Lord has made. On this day I love God with all my life. I open my eyes to God and to my neighbor.” And when we are ready to sleep, we might look back on the day and repeat, “This has been the day that the Lord has made. On this day I loved God with all my life, and so I opened my eyes to God and my neighbor.” How might this practice change our life? What might happen?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the commandments you gave to your people. They are commandments for us, too. Help us to live these words out every day so that we keep our eyes on you and bless our neighbors with your love. Amen.