Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 6 verses 11 to 12, “When you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord,” (NRSVB). Moses is summarising the law of God to the Israelites. He is imprinting on their minds the need to be ever mindful and watchful to fear the Lord and follow his statutes with the attitude of a loving and obedient child of God. In this Chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy in verses 4 and 5 Moses phrases the central part, that has been used through the ages, of the Jewish daily prayers, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord, the only Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your mind and heart and with your entire being and with all your might,” this is called the Shema, a transliteration of the opening words, “Hear, o Israel” the centre piece of the Jewish daily worship. This is the verse that Jesus quoted when the scribe came to question him on his knowledge and interpretation of the Laws of Moses. Jesus took the centre piece of the Jewish prayer and added another part of the Law of Moses from Leviticus 19 verse 18, stating, “And the second is like it and is this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these,” Mark 12 verse 31 (Amplified Bible).
Moses was well versed in the human condition and he knew that when things were going well people tend to forget the difficult times, when they would come with earnest prayers to God and worshipped him with all their mind and heart. He was concerned that when they would be settled in the Land of Promise, and things would be going well, that they would become complacent and forget that it was God from whose hand they were receiving these blessings. In times of need, when people are driven to their knees, for they have run out of options, God is worshipped more earnestly than in times of plenty. Moses wanted to prevent the Israelites from falling into a situation where they only served God half-heartedly and were relying on themselves, forgetting about their God, and, as they became successful, also forgetting about the needs of their less successful neighbours. The story of the Israelites and their back-sliding from serving the Lord with their whole heart, leading to the Babylonian Captivity, is a picture of the story of the history of the world. God as the One God, the Creator of the Universe, is not worshipped and honoured in the World, nor was his Son and this is repeated over and over through the course of history.
Despite humanity’s denial of her God, our loving Father continues to love the world, and continues to work in this world. A world that did not receive his Son, nor listened to Him, but gave him up to died, charging him falsely, but God raised him victoriously. Through Christ’s obedience and love with his whole heart and mind, his body and his strength, humanity could be reconciled to God, and humans could be reconciled to one another, restored and renewed as the new creatures in Christ Jesus. The Apostle John writes in his First Letter in Chapter One verse 17, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need, but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person,” (NRSVB). The hall-mark of the first century Christians was their love towards one another, and their love, even towards their enemies. They were persecuted, but shared the little that they had. The early history sources tell of the Christians saving orphan children, the sick, the old and the needy in all the towns they were living, thus showing the love of Jesus in the dark world.
Father, help us to love you and serve you with our whole heart and mind, body and strength and to love our neighbour, as you have taught us, Amen.