There’s a story about a young man
who approached Rabbi Shammai ~ a contemporary of Jesus ~ and promised to
convert to Judaism if Shammai could teach him the Torah while the young man
stood on one foot. Shammai then smacked
this young man with a stick he was holding.
“This is impossible!”
The man then when to Rabbi Hillel
offering the same challenge. The rabbi
said: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary. Now, go and learn it.” Shortly afterward, the young man converted to
Judaism.
Synthesizing the Torah wasn't unusual. There are 613 laws in the Torah
representing the 365 prohibition s given to Moses corresponding to the days of
the year, and 248 positive commandments corresponding to the bones of a human
body. It was eventually taught that it
could all be reduced to: do right and keep justice.
In the gospel, Jesus receives
such a challenge and responds to the young man… “You are not far from the Kingdom of God …”
Moses tells
the Israelites, “Hear O Israel. The lord
is our God, the lord alone! Therefore
you shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul
and with all your strength. Take to heart these words.”
“Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you
are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them
be as a pendant on your forehead. Write
them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”
The scribe who asked Jesus “Which
is the first of all the commandments?” wondered if Jesus was truly Jewish. Any observant Jew would know the answer to
that question… and would also commit to learning about God’s teachings, and
teach this law to children and speak of the Torah whenever possible.
Jesus adds to the familiar formula
with a second mandate… you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Clearly this scribe didn't know Jesus
well. He replied, “Well said, teacher. You are right.” Here is Jesus… the only begotten son of God,
born of the father before all ages. God
from God. Light from light, true God
from true God… begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father.” This scribe congratulates him on being right!
Jesus, is always compassionate and isn't provoked by the scribe. When the
scribe answered with understanding, Jesus said to him… “you are not far from
the Kingdom of God ” and no one dared to ask Jesus any
more questions.
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God …” Wouldn't it be great to hear Jesus speak those words to each of us? We know there will be a time for us to stand
before God… saints among saints in the halls of Heaven.
Watching and waiting for the second
coming, we do well to remember Pope St. Leo the Great who observed that whatever
was visible in Christ has passed over to the sacraments. Here is what we saw in Christ…
inclusion for the isolated, light for those in darkness, food for the hungry,
drink for the thirsty, balm for the afflicted, healing for the sick, sight for
the blind, and new life for the dead.
When we begin to understand the
great promise to which we are called, even the greatest challenges in our lives
can't obscure our vision. We look to be
enfolded in God’s love, praying that we will know this reality. The Holy Spirit challenges our
hearts and minds to accept this vision.
Our faith then brings the love of God to light the entire world through our words and works.
You are not far from the Kingdom of God ….
Its as near as the person next to you.
It’s in the humble awareness that our forgiveness is measured on how we treat
and forgive others.
In Deuteronomy, Moses implores the people of Israel that they will still need
God now that they have arrived in the Promised Land. They will need God as much as they did in the
desert. This is Moses’ last wish for his people.
Teilhard de Chardin wrote of this
need for God: “Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and
gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for the
second time in the history of the world, we will discover fire.”
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