“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Mk.12: 33
What a wonderful complement Jesus paid the Scribe! How would we all like to hear it said of us after what we prayed for in the Collect: -
“Your faithful offer you right and praiseworthy service”?
Perhaps we need first to consider its affect on all around him. The passage that forms our Gospel reading today comes amidst an ongoing debate between Jesus, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the scribes, that existed throughout his ministry: the Sadducees who did not accept the oral law that formed the livelihood of the Pharisees , the Scribes those who drew up the legal documents resultant on the former groups elucidations ‘in their opinion’, their hypocrisy that Jesus summed up as their saying one thing and doing another!
So, we come to our expert – one who would take great delight in the taking a passage of scripture – analysing it, interpreting it, analysing the interpretation and so on and so on…… However, he would also have delighted in the task of gathering up all these interpretations into one sentence that would of course then been open to, let’s be kind many further interpretations!
The Scribes challenge to Jesus: -
“Which is the first of the Commandments?”
is of course a further example of the word play that is used to trick Jesus throughout the Gospel. However, when questioned about the greatest commandment; Jesus does not go into a systematic evaluation of the base of each commandment as would his questioner have done: Jesus simply states that the greatest commandment is the Love of God and on equal footing the love of neighbour.
It is his acceptance of Jesus teaching that earns the complement of the scribe but what is perhaps a more crucial element is that this marks the end of the subject as Mark tells us: -
“no one dared to question him anymore.”
Jesus, summary of the Law, as we call it, is a passionate call to discipleship and it is the passionate response of the scribe that earns him Jesus acclaim.
Let’s look at the words of the Gospel again.
“Love God with all your heart.” The heart is called the seat of emotion. Are we ‘emotional’ about God or is God just a cosmic idea, a celestial force that controls the universe? Do we feel passionate about God? Do you have ‘feelings’ for God?
“Love God with all your soul.” The soul is the real you. It’s the deep down psyche that makes you what and who you are. Is our whole existence oriented towards God or is God simply a facet of our life that we turn to from time to time, on Sundays or in times of trouble?
“Love God with your whole mind.” The mind accounts for the intellectual side of your activity. Do we make decisions about life and our future with God in mind? Do we use our brainpower to try to learn as much as we can about our faith or are we content to hobble along with the same understanding that we had when we were still young children?
“Love God with all your strength.”Strength refers to the vigour with which we devote ourselves to God. Do we proclaim our faith with all the force and might at our disposal? Or is the practice of our faith heartless, soulless and mindless? Do we use all the faculties that God has endowed us with (heart, soul, and mind)?
“Love your neighbour as yourself.” To use a modern phrase, the ‘Evidence’ of the love we have for God we are called to show in our relationships in this world as Jesus showed his love for the Father in his relationship with those to whom he ministered. In other words – do those with who we work, rest and play see Jesus in us?
It seems to me that while there can be as many questions posed by Our Lord’s summary as there were laws and sub clauses that formed the background to the scribe’s question. If we go back to the scene as been set before us, we see that the Scribe has asked his question – Jesus has replied – the scribe responded, and Jesus has praised him – the response of the crowd was to leave him be.
Yes, in this passionate encounter Jesus has “said it all.”
Let us then fulfil the words of the Collect: -
“hasten without stumbling to receive the things you have promised!
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
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