It's Not That Far (Mark 12: 28-34) 11/4/12

             It’s Not That Far

               Mark 12: 28-34

          In the Sinai desert at the base of the mountain, Moses assembled the people of Israel. He had been on the mountain for several days communing with God and came down bearing the tablets of the Law. The people had sent him up the mountain because they were afraid to hear the voice of the Lord. So Moses went for them. After reading them the Ten Commandments, Moses says “Hear, O Israel.” What comes next is known as the Shema, from the Hebrew meaning “Hear.” The Shema says this: “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 might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” You can find these words in the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy (6: 4, 5).

          The 19^th chapter of Leviticus is a call to Holiness and refers often to the Ten Commandments. In verse 18, it is said that “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

          Both of these statements are directed to God’s people of the Exodus, the nation of Israel. In the intervening years from the Exodus to the life of Jesus, about 1200 to 1400 years depending on which scholar is doing the counting, the Jewish leadership managed to turn the Ten Commandments into 613 laws, 365 negative and 248 positive. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were the proud guardians of those laws. They were the meticulous observers of each and every law. The scribes, those entrusted with the interpretation and writing of the law, were also involved in this observation of ritual legalism. No wonder that even among a sea of questions designed to trap Jesus, a scribe would come forward with a legitimate question. What’s the most important? In a book full of laws, which is the one that surpasses the rest?

          Others had a similar idea. David recited eleven precepts in Psalm 15, from walking blamelessly to not taking a bribe.  Isaiah cut the list to six (Is 33:15) and later to two (Is 56: 1). Micah is my personal favorite. His list of three included to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before your Lord.” (Mi 6: 8). And Habakkuk said simply: “The righteous shall live by faith” (Ha 2: 4).  But in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy and Leviticus, calling them the Great Commandments (Mk 12: 28-34, Mt 22: 34-40, Lk 10: 25-28).

Does it take 613 laws to follow God? Hardly! Jesus didn’t negate the law of the Old Testament. He told us that he came not to do away with it, but to fulfill it. But Jesus wasn’t talking about 613 regulations designed by men as interpretation of what it takes to be obedient to God. Jesus knew full well the law of God and how to be obedient to its spirit. What Jesus did in our passage today was to prioritize the law. Love the Lord with all you have and love your neighbor as yourself.

Martin Luther put it this way: “Love God, and do as you please.” Could it possibly be that simple? Of course it can. It’s mankind which makes it hard to follow God. God’s law couldn’t be more simple. But simple is not the same as easy. In his blueprint for mankind, God chose to make us in his image. In the bundle of gifts that go with that design, he included free will. After all, that’s part of his image, too. Free will in the garden meant the ability to turn away just as much as it allowed Adam and Eve to follow. They chose to disobey, and here we are. We are still making those choices, still flexing our disobedience. In our God-instilled consciences, we reach out to him, make laws and erect traffic lights to regulate ourselves. In our God-breathed free will, we turn our backs on him, on our families, his church, our fellow man. Following God’s law couldn’t be more simple, but easy? No.

Ever been on the way to church and passed a car in distress, only to keep on going? Stopping to help would make you late for church and you have to teach. Ever stood in front of church and watched some one walk down the sidewalk looking hungry, homeless and lost? Maybe you thought about helping, about inviting him or her in, but she would probably just say no. And what would you do with her after church? The kingdom of heaven is beautiful, but planet earth is just plain messy.

In John Bunyan’s great classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, our hero Christian embarks on a journey from his home (earth), to the Celestial City (heaven). He is seeking deliverance from the sin he discovered about himself by reading the Bible. Along the way, Mr. Worldly Wiseman and Mr. Legality divert Christian from his path, persuading him that he will find his deliverance through the Law. Christian barely escapes the crushing burden of the law, being pulled back on the right path just in time by Evangelist.  Back on the King’s Highway, it is Goodwill who directs Christian down the straight and narrow path to the Celestial City. It should come as no surprise that Goodwill turns out to be none other than Christ himself.

It’s not that far, you see. If you walk down the straight and narrow and listen to and obey the urging of Goodwill, you will be on the King’s Highway, and it is a much more level climb to the top. Like the Pilgrim of John Bunyan, you too will find deliverance at the Cross of Calvary. Just like that Christian of old, you will climb the Hill of Difficulty, pass through the Valley of the Shadow and have many other experiences on your way to the Holy City. Hopefully, like Bunyan’s Christian, you will find the House Beautiful, which is the church, and there you will find fellowship and comfort in your pilgrimage. You will learn to turn away from would-be friends like Ignorance, who would have you to believe that good deeds are enough to get you to heaven, only to arrive without a passport and be turned away.

If Christian’s character sounds familiar, he should. He is the allegorical Everyman of literature. We all have hills to climb and valleys to cross and rivers to ford. But in the twelfth chapter of Mark, Jesus points us to the King’s Highway. “…and 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.” Live by that rule and the kingdom of heaven will be close enough to touch.

Jesus added another commandment. I think the love of neighbor is implicit in the first commandment to love God. I expect that Jesus thought so too. So why did he add it? I think he did it to clarify that which was commanded in Leviticus. In that Old Testament command, it was directed to the people of Israel. “You shall not take vengeance…against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus removes the condition about one’s own people. He says simply: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” No restrictions, no conditions.  With Jesus, the question is not who your neighbor is, but who your neighbor isn’t. He doesn’t limit his interpretation of the commandment. And neither should we.

Can you see the King’s Highway now? Look for the road signs. They are in the eyes of the people you meet. They are in the open hands you present to them. They are in the hugs and embraces you give to them and in the time you take with them. This is worth much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices the scribe could make. This is worth much more than all the tithes and offerings you will ever make.

God’s kingdom is not just where you end up. It’s in the journey, too. Don’t work for your reward. You can’t earn it. Instead, experience the journey. Let grace be your watchword, both in how you extend a helping hand and in what you hope for in return. Make your pilgrimage be a kingdom experience. “And when Jesus saw that the scribe answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not that far from the kingdom of God.”

Let us pray.     11/4/12