The great commandment Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34 Gospel reading for Sunday 4th November 2012

Three years on, I'm still trying to figure out what Jesus meant when He told the teacher of the law that he is "not far from the kingdom" See Gospel Reflections Oct 26 2009.

... but I have a theory ... and I think it is always good to have theories! (to quote a well-worn line from someone in our family!)

The religious expert knew all the facts. He was well versed in the rules and regulations of what was required under Old Testament law to be OK in God's sight. Generally though, the Jewish people simply did not get the fact that a new 'arrangement' was being ushered in before their very eyes. Given the man's reply and Jesus in a way giving him the thumbs up for his 'wise response', there is a suggestion that perhaps this guy is actually starting to get it.

But still we have the uncomfortable 'not far from' suggesting that he was not yet in! Why was he not in? What did he have to do to be in? My theory is that while Jesus commends him for having the right knowledge in his head, there is not yet the evidence through his spontaneous actions, that he understands what this means in practice.

So there lies the problem ... he was fixed on what it was that he had to DO. The irony is, that while he continued to focus on what it is that he HAD TO DO ...  he was always going to still be 'not far from' (but never quite in).

For us today, if WE are preoccupied with what it is that WE HAVE TO DO ... we are in exactly the same situation as the religious expert. We need to realize that 'What do we have to do?' is actually the wrong question! A better question is surely 'How can we celebrate what HAS BEEN DONE for us?' 

If you think my theory is a touch fanciful, flick over into Matthew 25, (which chronologically speaking, occurred only a matter of a day or two later). The hard hitting stories near the end of Matthew's Gospel, culminating in 'The parable of the sheep and goats' I think support the 'NOT FAR FROM because there was NOT YET SPONTANEOUS ACTION' theory.

The final judgement story is NOT a statement about being saved by good works. Rather our good works are evidence that we have been saved!

Are we in our Lutheran schools NOT FAR FROM the kingdom? Or are we celebrating that we are ALREADY IN THE SHEEP PEN, just  naturally and spontaneously serving those about us without even realizing we are doing it?

That's it from me!

Blessings,
Nev