Monite Me 15, 2023
שמע The Shema
FANONGO MAI
DEUTERONOMY 6:4-5
"HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT."
TEUTALONOME 6:4-5
4 Fanongo mai, ‘a ‘Isileli, Ko Sihova ko hotau ‘Otua ko e taha‘i Sihova ia: 5 pea te ke ‘ofa ki he ‘Eiki ko ho ‘Otua ‘aki ‘a e kotoa ‘o ho loto, mo e kotoa ‘o ho laumālie, mo e kotoa ‘o ho ivi.
The center of daily worship for Jews is the recitation of the Shema ("hear"). But it is far from just a Jewish confession. The Shema is at heart of the Christian faith. These words are recited by Jesus himself to indicate love for God as the foremost commandment (Mark 12:29-30). James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, quotes them (2:19), as does Paul (1 Cor. 8:4). Divine unity ("the LORD is one") calls for a unified and undivided love ("with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might"). As God is one, so let our love be one. Although several passages have spoken of God's love for us, this is the first time in the Scriptures that our love for God is mentioned.
The proscription "You have no other gods" is balanced by this prescription: "You shall love the LORD." Our God wants the totality of who we are. Belonging wholly to him is the only way we will truly flourish in this world. His Spirit shapes this love within us as he reshapes us in the image of Jesus, who is the embodiment of the Father's heart.
Most merciful God, grant that
with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our might, we love you.
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