Word to the Wise
Friday, April 1, 2011 - 3rd Week of Lent - Fri
[Hos 14:2-10 and Mark 12:28b-34]The scribe said to him,"Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
The scribes (experts in the law) don't get very good press in the gospels. Today's passage is a notable exception. The dialog between Jesus and the scribe shows that they were "on the same page" about where the real priorities were in the Mosaic Law: Faith and Love! So Jesus says to him what I know I would love to hear: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." (There's some irony in the response because the scribe is standing there in front of Jesus!)
The first phrase, "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!" is the primary act of faith for any practicing Jew! But there is no reason we Christians cannot join our Jewish brothers and sisters in saying it, even if the Christian Trinitarian understanding of God is different from the Jewish understanding. The statement is simple and profound! Once we acknowledge God in faith, we are called to love God in that truth AND our neighbor as ourself! We cannot exclude our neighbor for a solitary belief in God, nor can we exclude God in a kind of humanistic neighborliness! When we recognize that faith and love come first before many other things, we find ourselves "understanding" and "not far from the Kingdom of God." Wherever we find ourselves now, Lent offers us the chance to get closer and to understand better! AMEN
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