Six Minutes

Matthew 22:37-39 (NRSV) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On May 1, 1969, a Senate subcommittee met to decide whether public television would get $20 million or half of that. The Nixon administration wanted the smaller number. The chairman, Senator John Pastore, came into the room skeptical. The man there to speak for public television was a children’s host not yet widely known. Fred Rogers had a written statement. He set it aside and talked instead. For about six minutes, in the same quiet voice he used on television, he talked about children, about what they do with fear and anger, and about what it might mean for them to have one program that took those feelings seriously. Then he recited a song from his program, “What Do You Do with the Mad That You Feel?” I wasn’t a viewer. I was too old for the show when it came out, and I knew almost nothing about it until my daughter came along. She watched it in the mid-nineties, when she was little, and I learned what it was by watching her watch it. When Rogers finished, Senator Pastore told him it looked like he had just earned the $20 million. Nobody would call what he said loud. I’d call it bold. A Senate hearing room expects statistics and stern faces. Fred Rogers walked in and gave it a conversation. Jesus faced his own hearing. It was Tuesday of Holy Week, in the temple, and a lawyer asked him which commandment in the law was the greatest. Matthew says he asked it to test him. Jesus could have picked one. He quoted the Shema, the words everyone in earshot knew by heart, then added a second no one had asked for and said it was like the first. Heart, soul, mind. Put them together, and you have everything a person is, with nothing held back for later. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors, those people we come across every day, as we love ourselves. Heart, soul, and mind. For Fred Rogers, the neighbor was a child on a living room floor, someone no senator would ever meet. My daughter was one of them. He was ordained in 1963 and charged to minister to children and families through television. He said his program's message came down to loving yourself and loving others. Jesus says the whole law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. Fred Rogers hung a $20 million decision on six minutes of conversation about them. Prayer Father, you loved us with everything you have. Teach us to love you with all that we have, and to be good neighbors to whoever is near us today. Amen. This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.