Daily Devotion – October 27, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Mark 12:28-34
12:28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
12:29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
12:30 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.’
12:31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
12:32 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’;
12:33 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.”
12:34 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.
What is happening in this scribe’s encounter with Jesus? Scribes were usually coming to test Jesus and they hoped to find him lacking, or to find him a heretic. But in this encounter, the scribe and Jesus agree. Amazing. It would be like having a republican senator and Vice President Harris exchange a few words and then understand and claim they agreed with one another. It could happen, but it would be something rare.
The scribe even says that loving God above all else and loving our neighbor is more important than burnt offerings and live sacrifices. In his time, no one thought that. Even Jesus wasn’t saying believers shouldn’t make sacrifices in the Temple. But the scribe is leaning in that direction, and when he does, Jesus tells him that the Kingdom of God (which Jesus has been pointing to throughout his ministry) has come near this man. It was something rare and wonderful indeed.
This story of a rare moment of delight comes to us today while our own society is splintered and separated and very easily further fractured, depending on the day’s news. What might we learn from it? Jesus and the scribe were not dedicating their energies to undercutting one another. The scribe here agrees, and Jesus praises him for it. What would life be like if our politicians tried that? Or if our family members tried that? Or if you and whomever you have become estranged from tried that? See what common ground and agreement you can find this week. Talk about it out loud. Celebrate it.
Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for showing us through your son that unexpected agreement is always possible and that you are a God of surprises. Help us to keep your work of building community going so that we, too, might come near to the Kingdom of God. Amen.
