The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You
are right in saying, He is One and there is no
other than he…. And
when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You
are not far from the Kingdom of God."
Our gospel selections throughout the Easter Season were from
the Gospel according to Saint John, a gospel of crisis. Saint John’s Jesus continually
challenges his disciples and his contemporaries to accept him as the only
begotten Son of God, the Word made flesh. Before his resurrection his most
faithful disciples take him at his word despite their incomprehension. His opponents
refuse to accept him. There is no middle ground between opponents and disciples;
crisis demands an immediate decision.
Like John, the Gospel of Saint Mark challenges its hearers; but, as in today’s
story, Mark’s Jesus can recognize
someone who is making progress toward faith. “You are not far from the Kingdom
of God.” he says.
This Jewish scribe has the right spirit. He can recognize
wisdom and authority; he knows when his challenge has been met and bested.
This story is from the twelfth chapter of Saint Mark and
there are only sixteen chapters; we are rapidly approaching the Cenacle,
Calvary and the crypt. But even in the heat of conflict, after Jesus’ parable
of the killing of the vineyard owner’s son and before his denunciation of the
scribes, these honest opponents can
recognize their mutual integrity: “Well said!” and “You are not far!” they say.
Cooler heads are calling today for dialogue between
conservatives and liberals in government and church. There are good insights
and real grievances on all sides and we do well to listen to them.
I find, as I live in a community of Franciscan friars, if I begin
counting all I do for the community and then all they do for me, I become suspicious
and resentful. But if I first count all they do for me and then count what I do
for them, I am grateful. I must enter this
conversation aware of my own attitudes.
Jesus, throughout the New Testament, is described as a man
who is self-possessed. Even his angry ejection of the merchants from the temple
is a prophetic gesture, not an irrational outburst for which he must later
apologize. He can loudly denounce the pretentious in one moment; and in the
next, quietly admire the humble, as we will hear in Saturday’s gospel. He does
not lose his inner calm; he remains always docile in the Holy Spirit.
We must ask him to give us that same Spirit in all our
dealings.
In reading and hearing this Gospel, I am struck with the common ground that the scribe and Jesus have. They both recite the basic Jewish prayer, the Shema, recognizing that the relationship with God and others "is worth more than all offerings and sacrifices ". Perhaps conservatives and liberals in the political and church arenas could start and focus on the common ground too. Like you in community, when we can see the common ground of the other first, we can understand and appreciate the opposing attitudes.
ReplyDeletePeace,
Martha