Have you heard of the “Shema prayer” from the Bible? It is one of the most famous prayers found there and it was a daily prayer for ancient Israelites. It is still recited by many Jewish people today. While it appears in various places, we first find the prayer in the book of Deuteronomy (6, 4-5): “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And as for you, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
The Shema gets its name from the first Hebrew word of the prayer – ”hear” or “listen,” a translation of the Hebrew word shema. Ancient Jewish people often combined lines from the prayer with other passages, like Deuteronomy 11, 13-21 and Numbers 15, 37-41. Most of our ancestors prayed these words every morning and every evening. It has been one of the most influential traditions in Jewish history, functioning both as the Jewish “pledge of allegiance” and a hymn of praise.
The Shema provides the background to this weekend’s Gospel (Matthew 10, 37-42), where we will hear Jesus remind us of the importance of loving God and our brothers and sisters through hospitality, generosity, commitment in humble service, and the practice of corporal and spiritual works (or acts) of mercy (charity).
Jesus, in a sense, brings the Shema to its fulfillment by telling us that true hospitality means acknowledging the presence of God in others and serving Him in them, especially those in whom we least expect to find Him. We, as individuals and as a community, are to look for opportunities to be gracious and hospitable – and, of course, there are plenty of ways to do that.
We become more fully alive as believers through the generous giving of ourselves to others. For example, in the ways we think about others, in the ways we speak to them and about them, in the ways we forgive their failings, encourage them, show them respect, console them, and offer them help. Such generosity reflects warmth radiating from the very love of God and fulfills, all the more, the great Shema prayer we have inherited. With all due respect: “Hear O Portland, the Lord is our God ….”
