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"Most Important" A scribe has been listening to Jesus and some other religious leaders debating the laws of Moses and other applications of faith. He must have been impressed, so he comes to Jesus with a question of his own. “Of all the commandments, which is number one?” Jesus turns to the ancient prayer of the Jews, the Shema. The first paragraph of this prayer is found in 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 mind and with all your strength.” In the law of Moses, these words are of great significance, and are to be taught to the children, and worn on hand and forehead to remind the people to live them out. They were to be written on the doorposts of their homes so that they would never be forgotten. Then Jesus continued. The Scribe had not asked about a second commandment, but Jesus offers one: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Of all the commandments from Moses, none is greater than these two.” The Scribe is greatly impressed, and in his exuberance exclaims that Jesus is right. “This is more important,” he says, “than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Jesus looks at him and say, “You are not far from the kingdom of God, my friend.” Hear it? You are not far from heaven. Christendom becomes preoccupied sometimes with the heaven of the afterlife. The heaven that is far and away, up and beyond. The escape to which we all aspire. But Jesus has a habit of talking about heaven, or the kingdom of God as a reality here on earth. A state of being for those who are God’s people, living according to God’s will. One enters the kingdom of God when one, “gets it,” and begins to live into the reality of the kingdom. And the entry point into that kingdom, Jesus seems to be asserting, is to understand that more important than all of our worship practices, more important than our hymns, more important than our services and rituals and everything else we do in worship… (after all, that’s what the sacrifices and burnt offerings were in that day—the rituals of worship) More important though…is our willingness to live in such a way, that we demonstrate our love for God without reserve. Not holding anything back in our heart, our soul, our mind, our strength. Loving God with all that we are. And…loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. And to love God without reserve, and to love neighbors with the same love that we have for ourselves impacts our lives. Not just our worship. Our lives. Our decisions. Our attitudes. Our willingness to put God’s agenda before our own. Putting God first. Teach that to your children the Shema says. Teach them to put God first. With all of their heart, their soul, their mind and their strength. Do you do that? Whether your children are small or fully grown…do you teach your children to put God first and to love God in such a way that demonstrates that God comes first? What would your life look like if you made a commitment to that today? To teach your children the importance of loving God first and most? Would worship become a greater priority? Would your giving increase? Would you give more attention to the study of Scripture? Would prayer become central in your home? Would you give more of your time for Christ’s ministries? But pastor…(I can hear the protest starting to form) Pastor…we just don’t have enough time to do all that. Or enough money. Or our schedule is so hectic. I hear you. And I am reminded of something else Jesus said. He told his disciples and anyone else willing to listen that “where your treasure is, there your heart is also.” You notice he did not say “where your heart is, there your treasure is?” We will deceive ourselves if we start by saying where our heart is. More than likely, we will start talking about where we want our heart to be. Where we hope our heart is. But if you really want to know where your heart is, Jesus says, look to see where your treasure is.” In other words, where do you spend the most time, energy, effort? What do you value most? What can you not live without? What can you never imagine losing? That’s your treasure, and wherever your treasure is, there is your heart. And a thankful heart, loving and in love with God, develops from understanding what a treasure one has, and where it has come from. I think I said it last week this way: “Joy comes from receiving.” When was the last time you took an accounting of the treasure you have received from God? A chaplain making rounds in a hospital one day came upon a handicapped child. Her short life had been filled with a lifetime of suffering and pain. As her birth, a host of physical abnormalities were present, including a severe curvature of the spine. As a result, she was forced to spend hours each day and night strapped down inside of what was called a Phelp’s Box. A Phelp’s box was a device that resembled a shallow coffin. Early in the last century, children with severe curvature of the spine were placed in a Phelp’s Box and strapped down a flatly as possible for days on end, hoping to straighten the child’s backbone. The only part of the body that could be moved was the head. It was not only physically confining, but extremely painful as well. When the chaplain visited the little girl, he commented on how nice it was that her Phelp’s box was beside the window. Her face brightened. “In this position, I can only look up. On those nights when I can’t sleep, I play with the stars.” Intrigued with that phrase, the chaplain asked, “How do you play with the stars?” Sincerely, the little girl described her game. “I pick out the brightest star I can find, and I say, ‘That’s Mommy.” And I thank God. I then find a twinkling one for my brother, and another for my puppy, and my wheelchair. And I thank god. For some time the child continued on and on with her litany of praise finally concluding with this simple but profound statement. “But there aren’t enough stars to go around.” Can you imagine? A girl, beset by suffering and pain that we cannot even imagine, counting her blessings on the stars, giving thanks to God for each and every one…and there aren’t enough stars to go around. A little girl strapped in a box can find more things to be thankful for than the stars she sees through her window! I was shamed by that story. You see, I am awfully adept at counting all the problems I have…counting all the slights I have endured….counting all the troubles, the insults, the mistakes, the pains, the sticks, the pokes, the punches and the stumbles. When all along, I should have been counting the stars…and in so doing…counting my blessings. The opportunities, the friends, the fortunes, the loves, the hugs, the hands, the help I’ve been only to glad to have. I could have been counting the laughs, the songs, the smiles and the words of encouragement that have kept me going. How would I count ever beautiful sunrise or sunset, each delicate flower I’ve admired, each moment when by breath was caught away by beauty that I could not completely take in? I might spend my nights counting the stars for the roof over my head, the warmth of my bed and the satisfied stomach that lulls me to sleep. And for each…as many as there are stars, and probably more…for each, giving thanks to God. Until one is filled with such a sense of gratitude for all that God has done, and all that God has given, that we cannot help but be filled with love. Filled with a love that engages our whole heart, and our entire soul, and our complete mind and every ounce of our strength. When that happens, I believe we are not far from the kingdom of God. Isn’t that what Jesus said? Not far. Not far at all.
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