The first Sunday of November is either All Saints Sunday or, “Lectionary 31.” In worship, we will be celebrating All Saints. The Lectionary 31 readings include a passage from Deuteronomy 6 which is worthy of our attention.
[Moses said to the people,] 1 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…
Moses was charged by God to teach the people so that the people and the generations afterward would fear (respect/honor) the Lord their God. Verse four is very important to Judeans. Children would be taught this from a very young age. They count it as the first commandment. It’s called the shema [sh-MA] which means “listen/hear” as in both listen and do. In a culture where Moses and the people saw their neighbors worship multiple ‘gods,’ the shema declares that God and God alone is the Lord. Judeans recite verse four in the morning and in the evening. It is recited as a declaration of faith, including at the time of death. This is one of two prayers commanded in the Torah. (The other is grace after meals.)
Moses and company were about to cross into the new land. A lot of change was about to happen in their lives. They had already been through a long season of feeling out of sorts. Lest they forget what is most important, God wanted Moses to teach them the commandments so that it may go well for them.
Jesus taught similarly, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…” Jesus was clear about what….er, who… should be front and center in our hearts. To the man with many possessions, Jesus taught, “Go and sell all that you have…” and again, He taught another time, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Many things and many people vie for our hearts, our attention, our devotion, and our trust. Particularly in seasons of feeling out of sorts, it is easy to forget what, who is most important.
Many things claim that we can trust and rely on them or only trust and rely on them. It is a comfort that we can always trust and rely on God, the Lord, the one God. In whatever season this finds you, may the comfort and clarity of “the Lord is our God, the Lord alone” bring you certainty and peace. May it draw you closer to God. May things go well for you.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Jean