The fourth verse in today's; first reading is the beginning of the Shema. Shema is a Hebrew word, meaning a Creed or short statement of the fundamental beliefs of a religion.

The Shema is so dear to fervent Jews that they write it on a piece of paper, put it in a little box and attach it with strings to their foreheads in a literal response to Deuteronomy 6:8. One day when I was travelling on El Al, the national airline of Israel, I was startled when five or six men left their seats and went to the back of the plane. They took out their prayer books, tied tiny black boxes around their foreheads and started to pray. Then I remembered and relaxed.

In the Gospel Jesus warmly commends the scribe who accepted without demur the joining of the O.T. "command" to love our neighbour to the "command" to love God. Now we Christians have a Shema too.

We don't have to tie the new Shema around our foreheads, but it might be no harm to write it out and keep it in our purses or wallets. In moments of perplexity we could look at what is fundamental in our lives and consider how our proposed action or inaction might fit in with our statement of principles.