“Legacy”

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Meditation on Deut. 6:1-9 and Mark 12:28-34

Nov. 4, 2012

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  “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.

   “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:1-9)

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     We got together for our monthly Renville area pastors meeting on Thursday. Three of us were able to come this time to First Lutheran—Pastor Tom, our host, Pastor Joseph from Emden Christian Reformed, and me.

     We get together to make plans for ecumenical services, such as our Thanksgiving service coming up in a few weeks, and to encourage one another. We take turns leading a brief devotion, too –sharing what God is showing us—and then we pray.

    The three of us who attended the last meeting are still learning the ropes of ministry. I have been here only 14 months; Tom has been here exactly 12; Joseph only 2. All of us are in our first ordained calls; just about everything is new to us. 

   So it was interesting when Pastor Tom shared a devotion about “legacy” to people who are in the beginning of their ministry—not people who are even remotely considering moving on. “What will your legacy be?”  he asked.  “How do you want to be remembered when you are gone?”  

      Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to respond to Pastor Tom’s devotion because our meeting had already run long. But throughout the day, my thoughts drifted back to his question of legacy.

     How would people remember me and the ministry of Ebenezer during my time as pastor? I hadn’t thought about it before. 

     And then I thought, was this even important?  That people remember me, 50 or 100 years from now?  That isn’t why I came.  I began to feel uneasy, until I realized that God was trying to tell me that “legacy” wasn’t something I needed to worry about. I have to stay focused on the job I am called to do.            

     It is God’s grace and the Holy Spirit that allows and empowers me to be a pastor. And if I begin to doubt myself, then God lifts me up and plants my feet on the path He wants me to go. I can feel Him prodding me, “Keep going.”  If I am anxious, He brings me back to Him, again and again, assuring me, “You are my workmanship. Trust me. Just love my people and do what I say.”

     I like to think my job is pretty straightforward and simple. I point to someone else and show the way to Him.   

     It’s a joy and a privilege to be His servant, to encourage and help equip His church. I don’t know the answer to every spiritual question, but I know the One who does. And we can go to Him and seek our answers together. My calling is to help you discern what’s important in your life of faith—to teach you salvation in Jesus Christ, and encourage you to love, trust, and obey.

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       People in ancient times also had spiritual questions they struggled with and hotly debated.  People asked Jesus literally hundreds of questions about the right way to live out their faith.  Some sincerely wanted to know so they could live a life that was pleasing to God and see Him in His everlasting Kingdom. Others sought to stump him or trap him into giving an answer that was controversial or violated the Law. 

     But that doesn’t happen in today’s gospel. No one dares to challenge the answer Jesus gives when a scribe asks, “Which commandment is the first of all?”   

   Christ answers by supplying the 2 most important commandments to live by.

   The first is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your might.”  This comes from Deuteronomy 6, but Jesus adds the phrase, “with all your mind.”

     This passage is a vow of loyalty to the One True God, which Jewish people learn by heart as The Shema from the time they are children. The Shema, professed and taught for centuries, begins:

   “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.”  

   After the instruction to love the Lord your God with all heart, soul and might, Deuteronomy tells us to keep these words in our hearts (memorize them) and recite them to our children so they will learn them.

   We are to say these words all the time. Wherever we go—when we are at home and when we are away, all day long, from morning till night, when we lie down to sleep and when we get up in the morning.

  We are told to bind these words as a sign on our hand—write them down so we won’t forget! Fix or glue them as an emblem on our forehead so everyone who sees us will be reminded of our loyalty, our faith. We are to write them on the doorposts of our house and on our gates—so everyone who enters will know just how we feel about “the Lord who is our God, the Lord alone.”

   Then Jesus adds the second most important commandment.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

   This comes from Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18. The entire verse is, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

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     With all the questions that people asked Jesus, no one ever asked him about legacy.  But at His Last Supper, Jesus revealed how we should remember Him—His body broken and blood poured out for our sakes.   

      And in the gospel today, Jesus tells us how he wants us to live out our faith until we see Him face to face. We are not far from the Kingdom of God, he says, when we live by the first or greatest commandment: To love God with all heart, soul, mind, and might and love our neighbors as ourselves.

      And as Christ’s servant and your shepherd, I pray that one day, when I am no longer with you, you will simply continue on His work and show others the way to Him. I pray you will honor the first and greatest commandment.

      That you will serve the One True God, the Lord alone.

      And love, trust, and obey. 

Will you pray with me?

    Holy God, our One True God, You are our Lord alone.  You alone are worthy to be worshiped and praised!  We give you our hearts and rededicate our lives to You and following Jesus Christ, Your one and only Son, who, on a cross, took our sins away. Thank you for raising Him from the dead to show us Your triumph over death and evil. Thank you for your love, mercy and forgiveness, and for being patient with us when we become too focused on ourselves.  Please keep turning our eyes back to Jesus and teach us to love, trust, and obey.  In His name we pray.  Amen.