There is a short passage in Scripture known as “The Great Shema.” It’s name is taken from the Hebrew (שְׁמַ֖ע), the command for “Hear!”
שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהוָ֥ה — Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH is one.
Deuteronomy 6:4
This line of text, along with the next verse, became part of the daily prayer in Ancient Israelite tradition. It’s the great exhortation from God that we also need to badly hear. Think about it, how often do we stop and take the time to listen to what God actually has to tell us? And yet we know better. We know as Peter confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” (John 6:68). Even so, we busy ourselves with ‘important’ things and forgo the regular receiving of these words of eternal life.
Therefore, God calls to us in the Great Shema to get our attention. “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. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
—Deuteronomy 6:4-7
Hear and Take My Word to Heart
It’s as if God is pleading with us, “Listen to My words. Listen to what I have to reveal to you about who I am. About who you are. About what I have done, am doing, and will do for you. These words are the most important words you will ever hear. Stop what you are doing. Listen to these words and let them sink in. And then pass them on to your children that you all may share in the life I have to give.”
So, with that in mind, I propose we together take God’s Word to heart. Starting this Lent, I will be challenging the whole congregation to put God’s Word before us. We’ll start by looking at the Ten Commandments throughout Lent and memorizing a large portion of Romans 7 together. I pray the Spirit be with all who accept this challenge with me and bless our desire to hear what our God and Lord has to speak into our hearts.
I know memorizing is something our society has largely lost appreciation for, but this challenge to learn God’s Word by heart will be a blessing for all who partake and will help parents pass on the faith to their children. So, “Hear, O Faith Lutheran: YHWH our God, YHWH is one.” Let us love Him together by receiving the Word He has revealed and given to us.
The handouts are linked below. Each week of Lent we there will be a blog post for the handout with an explanation and going more in depth.
