Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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A mezuzah is a small box that many Jews place on the doorposts of their homes. It is often decorated and always contains a piece of paper on which is written the passage that we read in today’s Old Testament reading: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). The passage ends with the direction: “Write (these words) on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:9). Thus, the importance of a mezuzah to observant Jews.
This prayer of the Jewish People is often called the “Shema”, Hebrew for “Hear”, the first word of the prayer.
When observant Jews enter their homes, they touch the mezuzah, and then remember the words, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, is Lord alone.” They will often kiss their fingers after touching the mezuzah.
It is not unlike what we do when we enter into our churches, dip our fingers in holy water, and then make the sign of the cross over our bodies as a statement of our belief in the one God, who is also three persons. It is a way to remember our commitment to God.
The Shema prayer is found in both the Hebrew Scriptures (for us, the Old Testament) and in the Gospel, as quoted today by Jesus, who was asked which was the first of all the commandments. He said, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lorded your God with all your heart, with all your souls, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
There is a strong and long-standing bond between the Jewish people and Christians. It was Jesus who said, “Salvation comes from the Jews” (see John 4:22). We also believe that we, like the Jewish people, are the children of Abraham. In the first Eucharistic Prayer we call Abraham “our father in faith.” Recent popes have reminded us that we have a common spiritual heritage with the people of Israel. There is no place for anti-Semitism in the Christian heart.
What is the Lord teaching us in today’s Gospel? What does he want us to know by using the Shema prayer as he speaks to the man about the greatest commandment?
Jesus is teaching us, all of us, that God is above us, creator of all of us, the true ruler of this world, and we must listen to him.
What flows next is quite natural then. We begin to hear God tell us, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The hate that foments all around us in the world and its people at war, the dysfunction of our families, the vitriol on the internet, and certainly scandals in the church and elsewhere, we begin to hear God say to us: “Enough.”
That is when we begin to turn our ears again to God’s Word, which is always a word of love. And love unites. Love heals. Love saves. Love never fails (see 1 Cor. 13:8).
So, whether we touch our finger to a mezuzah on a doorpost or dip our hand into the holy water of our parish church, let’s remember to “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!” Then remember to love what our God loves. Our God loves the people he made in his own image and asks us to do the same.
Have a blessed week everyone.