Wholehearted Love
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
This section of Scripture is often simply called “The Shema.” It is one of the most famous prayers in the whole Bible, and for thousands of years has been used by the Jewish people as a twice-daily prayer. Old Testament scholar Patrick Miller says that Deut 6:4-9 is “the pivot around which everything else in Deuteronomy revolves.” Jesus himself quoted this text when he was asked to summarize the entire Torah. In other words, this is a very important text!
The primary teaching of this text is the call to love God. Specifically, God's people are called to respond to the covenant love of God with their own wholehearted love in return. We are called to love God with all of heart, soul and strength. We'll unpack what each of those words means in the sermon, but for now it’s worth saying that Moses calls the people to love God with everything they are and everything they’ve got. Ultimately, this is a prayer about our heart's deepest allegiance and how we express our love for God in the world.
As you prepare for worship this Sunday, consider the following:
The Shema begins with the words, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” What does it mean for you to affirm the oneness of God in a world full of competing voices, idols, and allegiances?
Moses calls God’s people to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength. Which part of your life feels most aligned with this call right now? Which part feels hardest to surrender in love to God?
This passage emphasizes teaching these words to children and talking about them “at home and on the road.” How do you (or how could you) weave faith naturally into the ordinary rhythms of daily life? What role do intergenerational friendships in Parish Groups play for you and your household in the reinforcement of your faith?
God’s command is not only about inward devotion but also about outward practices—binding the words on hands, posting them on doorframes. What practical habits, symbols, or rhythms help you keep your love for God visible and embodied in everyday life?
Jesus quotes the Shema as the greatest commandment. How might returning to this prayer help re-center your priorities and affections this week?
Deuteronomy 6:4–9
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Read along with us this fall! Download our Deuteronomy Reading Guide here.