In today’s gospel reading (Mk 12:28b-34) Jesus says to a scribe: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Just a few verses later Jesus says: “Beware of the scribes, … They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
The “Scribes and Pharisees”, usually lumped together, are condemned frequently and vehemently by Jesus. So it is unusual, to say the least, to hear Jesus responding positively to a scribe. The reason is also unusual – “Jesus saw that he answered with understanding”.
In most cases, when Jesus commends someone, it is for their faith. When he encourages them, it is to act, not to study! So it would be easy to imagine that Jesus is looking for people to simply accept what he says and follow him, or even just to follow without really knowing or understanding what they are doing – which is, after all, what we see for the most part in the disciples. But that isn’t all the story.
Jesus didn’t just leave his followers to bumble along. They gradually came to understand, particularly after Pentecost. And they learned to listen to each other and learn from each other, as notably Peter did in listening to Paul in regard to how to treat the gentiles.
Jesus criticized the scribes for hypocrisy, not for learning. He wanted people to understand – to understand him – and through him to understand the Father. When the scribes’ actions demonstrated that they hadn’t understood anything, despite their learning, then he let them have it full bore. The understanding he was looking for wasn’t the sort that comes with being able to recite the Law from memory, or always being able to give the “correct answer” to a clever question. The understanding he wanted was like when a friend says “I understand you”; I am with you; I want to be close to you; I appreciate what you are experiencing.
The scribe demonstrates in his response to Jesus that he wasn’t trying to be clever, to get one over him, as was so often the case when learned people asked him questions. The scribe showed Jesus that he was really trying to understand his relationship with God, to understand God and what He asks of us.
We know, as the Jews knew, that we can’t really understand God. But we can have a relationship with God, and in that sense we can try to understand him as best as we are able. God understands us perfectly, we understand him very imperfectly. But our limitations shouldn’t make us stop trying – when we seek to understand God then we are getting closer to him. So Jesus can say to us also “You are not far from the Kingdom of God” – and we can work at getting closer.