Being not far from the kingdom - 30 October 2015

Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and beside him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbour as oneself’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”  [Mark 12:32-34]

This scribe sounds to me a little condescending.  “You are right, Teacher”.  These days I tend to react negatively when someone informs you, you’re right, or you’re wrong, as though they, or I for that matter, determine such things, or as though they are marking an exam paper.  Truth is not like that.  Truth is usually subtle, nuanced, multi-hued and multi-faceted, and appreciates a little humility.  This scribe informs Jesus that he is quite correct.  It was because Jesus had quoted the Law, the First Commandment in fact – along with a smart addendum about loving your neighbour.  Full marks. 

Then we get to the important bit.  The scribe says that the essence of the Law is a changed heart.  He says this love, loving God and the neighbour, must be with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength.  It must be total and life-defining.  That is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.  Religious observance is pointless if it does not come from a heart that loves God and loves the neighbour.  It is that insight from the scribe which leads Jesus to say, You are not far from the kingdom of God.

“Not far” is a tantalising thing to say, not least because of the implication that there are some very religious people who are in fact far from the kingdom of God.  The kingdom, said Jesus in another setting, is within you.  It is at the level of your thoughts and wishes and motivations, and in the ways you relate to people, especially people who are different.  A veil gets drawn over this kingdom within if we choose to be unforgiving, or to belittle someone else’s pain, or to pin labels on people and imagine that defines them.  The light of the kingdom is hidden under a tub, as Jesus said, if we live to prefer our own safety or reputation or possessions.  The kingdom is obscured when we religious people erect moral barriers or become unreceptive to human frailty and need, blind to our own error and fallibility. 

The kingdom is at hand when we are still and silent and consenting – at those important moments when we are not by reflex trying to defend ourselves or protect ourselves or explain ourselves or justify ourselves, but simply being present and paying attention, because we remember we are created and answerable, loved and capable of loving.  I think this scribe knew that.  He is stumbling up to the gates of the kingdom, and Jesus sees his good heart.