“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:26)
Like many parents, I can remember days when my young children would ask unending questions about the world. “What is that animal called?” “When can I get that new toy?” “Can my friend come over to play?” “Where do babies come from?” “When will we get there?” “Why can’t I see God?” Some of the questions were easy to answer while others required a lot more effort, time, and attention.
We all have questions. Our questions reveal what we care about, whether that is trying to understand someone we’re talking with, our pursuit of knowledge on a subject matter, or our longing to connect with God in a meaningful way.
Questions often express our deepest desires, but they can also be used in other ways. When Jesus enters Jerusalem, He is a welcome guest to some people but a despised intruder to others. The religious leaders, unfortunately, tend to view Jesus as an unwelcome troublemaker. In the passages we’ll explore this week, the religious leaders use their questions as tools to trick, coerce, and control Jesus. Their questions are false forays toward Jesus, while they steadily entrench themselves like an enemy army behind a fortress. They want to domesticate Jesus and keep God at arm’s length.
The religious leaders aren’t so unique in this approach to Jesus. We can all do this at times. We do it when our deepest desires have been disappointed, when we’ve been hurt, or when we don’t really want to look at something we know we need to explore. We may find ourselves trying to domesticate Jesus like a house pet, while keeping God at a safe distance.
But what would it look like to lay our weaponized questions down and turn to Jesus with our deepest longings? What might happen if we brought our real selves to Jesus, open and vulnerable, hungry and longing for things we rarely admit or name? What questions would we put to Jesus in that sort of state?
What might we hear Him say?
For reflection:
- What is one way you may need to set down your questions to truly hear from Jesus?
- What is one question you wish you could ask Jesus?
by Matt Erickson
Week 4 Family Talk
What were the first words you learned to recite about God? Was it John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son . . .”? Or, maybe it was “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”?
When young Hebrew children were growing up, the first thing they learned to recite was a passage called the Shema. “Shema” is a Hebrew word that means “hear” or “listen”, and it is the first word of these verses:
“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.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
Faithful Jews would recite the Shema first thing in the morning, and the last thing before they went to sleep.
One day Jesus was approached by the Pharisees—the prideful group of temple leaders. They tried to trick Jesus by asking him which law of the Bible was the most important. They believed that all of the laws were equally important, so if Jesus chose just one, He would be wrong. But Jesus knew what they were up to! Instead of a long, complicated explanation, Jesus recited the Shema—the simple truth that even Hebrew children knew!
Loving God first, and loving everyone else the way we love ourselves is so important, because all other good actions, choices, and words come from these two truths! If we love God, we want to please Him, and our choices will show that. If we really love others, then we can’t help but to be fair, kind, and truthful. All of the commandments and teachings from the Bible are summed up in these two statements (Matthew 22:40).
Reflection Questions:
- Think of an ordinary day. How do you show that you love God first (“with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength”) as you get ready for school? While in class? While playing with friends?
- How can we learn to love God more?
- Close by reciting the Shema together as a family. Decide to memorize it together.
by Laure Herlinger
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