Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 4, 2009 - St. Peter of Verona, first Dominican martyr
[Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1, 9-17; 8:4-9a and Mark 12:28-34]When Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God.
The gospel scripture for the past several days has featured encounters between Jesus and the various "authorities" in the Jewish community of the time. We have seen encounters between him and the "chief priests, scribes and elders of the people," in addition to the political forces in the form of the "Herodians." In general the situation has been testy and motivated (on the part of the "authorities") by a desire to find a way to get rid of this troublesome rabbi. Today's scripture is a more positive scene. Scribes were experts in the Mosaic Law. Debate amongst them about various interpretations was common, so it would not be out of place for the scribe in this encounter to ask Jesus: "Which is the first of all the commandments?" I cannot help but think that Jesus' response was a surprise but also a good surprise in that the scribe appears to have been motivated by faith and not hypocrisy. The result is that Jesus gives him the unique compliment: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." (Ironically, that kingdom was standing right in front of him!) I wonder how any one of us would respond to the scribe's question? What are the most important "commandments" to us? Is there a way that Catholics can answer that question? If our biblical memory is quick, perhaps we would respond the way Jesus did to the scribe! Would we recite the Creed? Perhaps we would say, "Love of God and neighbor!" and leave it at that. The response of our questioner to what we say could be the beginning of a truly interesting dialog of faith! AMEN
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