If you are a faithful, observant Jew, there is nothing more important to living a good life, than the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. These inspired writings of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy lay a foundation for how to follow the Lord. In the Torah, 613 mosaic laws, including the 10 commandments, are laid out for the faithful to follow. Over the centuries, rabbis and scholars would build secondary laws around the 613 laws to keep people from breaking them. Think of them as a sort of fence, so you wouldn’t even come close to stepping on the sacred grass of the law. Over the centuries these became more and more complicated and technical, almost to the point of being ridiculous and distracting people from God rather than pointing them towards him. To be clear, I am talking about the laws of men, not the 613 laws given by God to Moses and the prophets. They started with good intentions but almost becoming an end in themselves. How many steps could you take on the sabbath? Were you carrying water? What constituted a step? etc…
It was this technical, legalistic mindset that motivated the enemies of Jesus. They would constantly propose scenarios with the law to try to trick him so they could discredit and kill him. For many of the scribes and pharisees, religion was all about legalism and ritual rather than relationship with God. It would have been very easy for Jesus to roll his eyes today, when this scribe asks which of the 613 laws is the greatest. He had been asked these questions many times before and he had shut down his critics. We would all understand if he assumed the worst in the scribe, especially since his experiences with them, over and over again, was negative because of their malice and lack of faith.
But notice what Jesus does. He assumes the best in this scribe and instead of being cynical, believes he might actually want to learn something. Jesus listens to the question and answers with a thoughtfulness and wisdom which moves the scribe to exclaim that this answer is perfect, “That God is One and there is no other than he.’ And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Jesus sees that this scribe is different, that he is seeking understanding and to truly know how to follow the law in the way that will most satisfy God. And Jesus’ willingness to engage him respectfully, thoughtfully, and with a loving desire to lead him to the kingdom, leads the man to grow in faith and come to a greater understanding of the law. His act of faith moves Jesus to say, “ you are not far from the kingdom of God”!!
The reflection I offer you for today / tonight, is how Jesus does not assume this scribe is just like all the others he has debated with. He had every reason to assume he was. But Jesus engages him with respect and truth, and because of that, draws out faith and greater understanding, which may lead to this man discovering eternal life rather than just some legalistic following of religion.
Think about the times we live in. How easy it is to label people and place them into stereotypes that fit nicely with our lived experience. How quick you and I are to judge and pigeon-hole someone because of their appearance, political party, race, or some other quality. Jesus engages each and every person on their own merits as a unique and important child of God. He never clumps people together or dismisses them because he once met someone who acted or looked like they did.
I believe people can sense when we treat them with respect for who they are as an individual person, created in the image and likeness of God, with their own merits. I think the dynamics of interpersonal relations are changed when we go into conversations and situations assuming the best in each other rather than looking for the negative and ulterior motives. We can learn something from others who are completely different than us, who even disagree with us, if we are open to learning from their perspective rather than winning and being right. If we pay attention to how Jesus treats the people who come to him, we cannot help but notice the consistent respect, patience, and concern he shows, without exception, even to his enemies, even when he is not given the same courtesy.
Our world needs this today and our faith demands it of us. We cannot be content to sit back and only love those who love us. Our Christianity is not alive and well if we assume the worst in others and look for negative motivations as a matter of habit. People should not have to earn our respect; they are entitled to it because they are made and loved by God just as we are. We should engage each person hoping and praying for their eternal good and happiness, not just for what they can do for us. This assumption of the good and hope for human flourishing should be our default way of thinking that informs how we act and treat each other.
The temptation is to sit back and say, “I will do this once those other people do.” Or to harden our hearts and put on our emotional armor because we are afraid of being wrong about someone or looking like a sucker when they act like a jerk in the face of our kindness. But it’s God’s job to sort that out. Think of all the people who received the love of Jesus and threw it back in his face or took it for themselves and never spread it to the people around them. That sad reality didn’t make Jesus cynical or cause him to stop offering the love and mercy of God. Through his prayer and closeness to the Father, he could continue, time after time, to see each person as a potential saint and disciple rather than a likely Judas and sinner.
God is so patient with us! He constantly draws the good out of us and focusses on our potential good rather than the very real faults we so often commit. It’s time for us to go and do likewise with each other without exception or excuse. God made us all; he loves each of us as individuals. Let’s assume the best in one another and find the good in others. Let’s be the first to do so. Who knows, someone may find their way to greater faith and understanding of God if we follow the Master’s lead!
