Word to the Wise
Friday, March 24, 2017 - 3rd Week of Lent - Fri
[Hos 14:2-10 and Mark 12:28b-34]And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." [Mark]
To my non-scripture scholarly eyes, there is an unintentional bit of irony here. The scribe is standing in front of Jesus. He is very close to the kingdom of God! The only thing left for him to do is to follow Jesus. Nevertheless, he has a better understanding of the law than some of his fellow scribes who emphasized meticulous observance rather than the big picture of love of God and neighbor. The scribe in front of Jesus sees that big picture and puts it above all observances. That alone puts him close to the kingdom. He has only to follow Jesus now.
However, there is much more, both for the scribe and for us. The dual command of love of God and neighbor is like the two sides of one coin. We can't have one without the other. The command to love neighbor is a command to "put skin on love of God." Nor can we engage in a kind of casuistry that narrows the list of "eligible neighbors." We can read about that question in Luke 19:29-37, the story of the Good Samaritan.
As part of our Lenten observance, it might be helpful to see if we really have a list of "eligible" neighbors, and why? How close to (or far from) the kingdom of God does that list put us? Does it resemble the "list" in Matthew 25:31-45 (the scene of the last judgment)? AMEN
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