For Sunday, November 1, 2015 – Mark 12:28-34
We can be “almost there”—almost aligned with God’s way, close to that singular clarity—when suddenly we back away. Jesus and the scribe and those listening show us how it sometimes goes, how we can come right to the brink of deeper immersion, more fully comprehending that nothing matters more than to love God with an immense largeness of heart, and to love ourselves and our neighbors in the same way, and then abruptly we dare go no further.
The scribe who questions Jesus about the most important commandments was impressed by how astutely he had answered questions earlier about divorce. He noticed how Jesus responded to the most serious issues that divide us by seeing at the heart of them, at the heart of us, our core longing for unity. We might not yet have figured out how to live as one, how to work as partners in the common bonds of love, but Jesus knows this is the true journey we are on. When the scribe commends Jesus for putting first things first—for saying the most important commandments are the love of God and neighbor and self, above burnt offerings and sacrifices—Jesus in turn commends him. They are modeling mutual respect, showing what the bonds of unity can look like. Jesus tells the scribe he is not far from the kingdom of God.
Isn’t this an uplifting exchange to overhear? How encouraging to know that the scribe’s understanding is not far from the kingdom of God, which gives us hope that perhaps we can come close, too. Yet the minute Jesus declares, “You are not far from the kingdom of God,” the scripture says no one dared to ask him any more questions. Why would being told we are coming close cause us to back away?
Maybe we get so accustomed to seeing ourselves as perpetually seeking, separated from others, more lost than found that even Jesus himself saying we are nearly there can cause us to halt the process. Wait a minute! Who would I be without this struggle? What worries would I cradle then? I wonder why I would be reluctant to topple over, at last, into the great well of love? Hearing how close to God’s realm they were did not excite them or ignite them. It caused them not to dare anything more. I wonder why.
