The Reading
Mark 12:28–34
One of the scribes came near and heard Jesus and the Saducees disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides 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 neighbor 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.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
Reflection by Kate Ainsworth-Bowles
When I hear the words “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” I am immediately taken to the beautiful Jewish worship services I have attended with my nieces and cousins. The Shema, often called the central prayer in Judaism, is usually followed by “Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.”
I enjoy thinking about the Kingdom of God, and all of the different things that it can mean. Jesus spoke in parables about how precious and rare it is. Like a pearl of great price. Like a tiny mustard seed that grows to be a huge tree. I like to think about how the Kingdom of God is here, now, in my heart, and also something to strive for, to be a part of creating. So where do we find the Kingdom of God today?
For me, part of finding it is in the second part of Jesus’s lesson “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is, in my mind, where the really hard work is. Even where I live, some neighbors are easier to love than others, and I know that Jesus’s idea of neighborhood is much bigger than my condo community.
It is so easy for me to love the people who are kind to me, the people who make me laugh, or the people who echo my political and religious beliefs. It is also easy to love the people who make me feel good about myself because they are needy, and I can help them. I think the way that Jesus is inviting me closer to the Kingdom of God is by learning to love my other neighbors, the people who are the least like me. And to love the people who have hurt me, and the people who scare me. And even to love the people that I don’t know, but who I see on the news, who make me worry for our shared future.
In our Community of Hope pastoral care training, and especially in our ongoing monthly check-in discussions, we talk a lot about how to give care to people who have very different views than our own. Much of that training is about listening. If I hear the story of the person who scares me, will I find myself less judgmental, and closer to love? Maybe. Is there something I can learn about the person who was hurtful to me that will help me to see our common ground? There might be. What about those people in the news that I can’t have a conversation with? Is there a way for me to trust that if God loves them, I can love them too? Will that push open the door to the Kingdom of God in my heart bit by bit?
All I know for sure is that Jesus said this is the most important thing. I have an image of my parents giving me chores when I was a kid, and coming home from work expecting me to have them finished. “I gave you this one little thing to do…” So I’m giving myself a chore for this week. I’m going to spend some time every day in prayer for the people who challenge me the most. I will pray that they are safe and happy and feeling God’s peace and love. And I will pray that for the people in my life who are easy to love too. And for myself.
I believe that “the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” and I believe that we also can be one. And by doing the most important thing I am asked to do, I may also one day hear Jesus say “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”