Tag Archives: kingdom-of-god

Lent Day 24: Questions?

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TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s Gospel (Mk 12:28-34) has Jesus being questioned by a scribe about what His opinion is of the greatest commandment and the scribe’s affirming response. The episode closes this way:

“Jesus said to him,
‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God.’
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.” (v. 34)

“Jesus was God’s agent in establishing the reign of God on earth. After announcing that the kingdom of God was at hand (1:15), Jesus began to call men and women to be his disciples (1:16-20). Those who became the new family of Jesus (3:34-35) were coming into the reign of God. This scribe was ‘not far from the kingdom of God’: he is not a disciple of Jesus, but he grasps what is at the heart of living under the reign of God. Jesus’ new family is made up of those who do the will of God (3:35); this scribe understands what God expects.

“Jesus has been challenged and questioned by various parties but he has met the challenges and answered the questions (11:27-12:31). His opponents have been reduced to silence but have hardly been eliminated as opponents.” (Bringing the Gospel of Mark to Life, 328-29)

The scribe does not actually realized how close to the Kingdom of God He is. Jesus embodies the Kingdom by bringing heaven to earth in the incarnation. Don’t forget Jesus’ first words of His public ministry:

“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:15)

Judgment comes upon the world and God judges it redeemable, but at what a cost! His own beloved Son. Yet, just before He died, anticipating the awful fate in store for Him in just a few hours, Jesus invited us to share in the Kingdom through the Eucharist instituted at the Last Supper. The Mass as Heaven on Earth, indeed. And we have the privilege in taking part in it every day if we are able.

As for the scribe who inquired, it seems to me that He was an honest seeker, based on a not unusual question from a rabbi or for a rabbi and an irenic and affirmative response. So why did no one “dare” to ask any more questions? It is true that prior to this episode, in the same chapter as well as earlier, the religious leaders’ attempt to trap Jesus using His own word fell flat, thus the growing vengeance that would soon consume them. Futility maybe caused abandonment of questioning by His enemies in favor of a more permanent solution to the Jesus Problem. But for the honest seeker, it seems Jesus would always be open to dialogue. Maybe Jesus was a bit intimidating here — not in demeanor but in His profundity and decisiveness (see Mt 7:28-29). A bit mysterious to me.

God bless.

Advent Day 5: Lord, Lord!

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TODAY’S READINGS

The Gospel reading is from Mt 7:21, 24-27, which closes out the Sermon on the Mount. The key verse contains these words of Jesus:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. (v. 21)

“To be genuine, prayer must be accompanied by a persevering effort to do God’s will. Similarly, in order to do his will it is not enough to speak about the things of God: there must be a consistency between what one preaches — what one says — and what one does: ‘”‘The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power’ (1 Cor 4:20); ‘”‘Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves'”‘ (Jas 1:22)…To enter the Kingdom of heaven, to be holy, it is not enough, then, to speak eloquently about holiness. One has to practise what one preaches, to produce fruit which accords with one’s words.” (The Navarre Bible: St Matthew, 84)

“The wishful repetition of the formulaic appeal ‘Lord, Lord!’ here corresponds to the broad and easy way to salvation that in fact leads to perdition. All the hope of such implorers is predicated on the goodwill of the Lord to save them, whereas Jesus says that those will be saved who do God’s goodwill and not merely appeal to it.” (Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word. 311)

I can’t conceive how any Christian reading the words in this Gospel passage, particularly considering the emphatic and vivid verses that follow in the reading (inexplicably two verses were excluded that make the message stark and abundantly clear [vv. 22-23]), can possibly espouse “once saved, always saved” or “faith alone” with no works absolutely required. Over and over, Christ emphasizes that what we do here on earth determines our eternal fate (for starters, the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares, and the narrow gate and the wide gate). The last example comes just a few verses before today’s reading. The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes. It is as if Jesus is providing the capstone to all His teaching in the last three chapters: “Have you been listening? Let me drive it home!”

Peter takes on those who misread Paul, but also those who do the same with the rest of the Bible:

In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures. (1 Pt 3:16)

Thank God for the Spirit-protected Catholic Church!

SAINT OF THE DAY: AMBROSE

The man who had such an impact on St. Augustine, bringing him into the fullness of the Faith, ultimately giving us one of the greatest theologians of the Christian era. Read him and read all about him here.

PEARL HARBOR DAY

Please pray for the over two thousand Americans who died this day eighty-two years ago on the southern coast of Oahu. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord…

God bless.