Are we close or there yet?

I recall asking that question in the car: “Are we there yet?” and being perplexed at my parents frustration in answering my plea. As a parent, I now know of that frustration… We talk a lot in Church of the Kin_dom of Heaven: is it over there or up there or within us? How will we know about it? Here Jesus gives us a heavy clue:

Knowing that means you’re close. Living like that means you are there.

We are looking at Mark 12:28-34. In today’s world it is also approaching the first day of #COP26, here in Glasgow. Do we want Heaven here on Earth or Hell?

Disputes

There has been a dispute a few verses earlier about the living and the dead. Jesus brings the focus away from Levirate marriage and re-emphasises that God is of the living. There is no talk of the dead. Sometimes we may need to take a step back and read of the philosophies prior to Jesus and see how the concepts of Heaven and Hell developed over time. It may be that we read the English versions of the Bible and only make a decision based upon these translations.

A Scribe enters the dispute and asks a question which has been asked before “What is the first Commandment?“. Why?

Perhaps as it was a central focal point of philosophical deliberation at the time. Recall Paul’s trip to Athens in Acts 15 where he encounters philosophers keen to debate everything and anything, to discern the meaning of life.

Are we interested in discussing such points today?

Shema

In Jesus’ response Jesus quotes what is called the Shema (the Jewish confession of faith made up of three scriptural texts (Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:13–21; Numbers 15:37–41), which, together with appropriate prayers, forms an integral part of the evening and morning services) but linking two passages was quite odd at the time. He links Deuteronomy 6:4-5 with Leviticus 19:18. In the collective response Jesus adds the mind.

In the verses prior to the the Leviticus verse, we have a list of prohibitions such as:

• leaving food for the hungry along the edge of the field. Would that be food banks now?

• we shouldn’t steal or take God’s name in vain.

• we shouldn’t discriminate against others, period.

Why? because the love of God is seen in technicolour through the love of the neighbour.

How does this look with refugees currently? When some countries are opening up their borders merely to allow refugees move from their country to the next, moving the buck perhaps. When the UK are trying to prevent migrants moving to our country and taking a lot of time to process their applications, even considering sending them to the mid-Atlantic to keep them away from our shores.

Scribe

This Scribe appears not to be chastised or quickly corrected by Jesus – some might even think that this Scribe is one who is a close follower of Jesus. This Scribe hears the words of Jesus and understand them, they can see the rationale and can see how it might be applied in context.

Knowing that means you’re close. Living like that means you are there.

Could it be that this Scribe is not living in the kin_dom, but is simply near the kin_dom?

How might that be with us?

Can we understand the words, the concepts but struggle with the implementation?

Jesus is saying that we should look at the heart, our motivation, and our overarching way of life, then we are near to the Kin_dom of God. But we are not close to death’s door at this point.

There is a distinct difference between death and the kin_dom of God – does that go along with past teaching?

Is our intent to go to Heaven or to be in the kIn_dom of God?