"You Are Not Far From The Kingdom of God" - 31st Sunday Homily

Jesus is impressed with the scribe who appears to have taken the words of the law to heart, as Deuteronomy said.

He answers with understanding to Jesus.

He appears to get it.

As a priest, I can appreciate this, being impressed by someone who gets it about the Kingdom.

A few weeks ago, a youth group, one of our teens, showed understanding with one of the mysteries of our faith.

It was amazing.

The OCIA folks, those adults who are choosing to become a Catholic, have always impressed me with their love for Christ and the Gospel.

Last Tuesday I was impressed with the crowd at the Catholic 101 series that I'm leading.

I talked for like an hour straight.

It was like a lecture about deep, heavy duty stuff.

The Bible, the Trinity, the church, and they didn't fall asleep.

It's like an hour straight.

And then one at the end said, you didn't talk about this.

I'm like, you're kind of kidding me.

Wow.

Impressive.

Now it's not just what the scribe is saying, it's the fact that as a scribe, he is saying it.

Because Jesus lays into the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel.

As teachers of the law, but not doers of the law.

They had the law in their minds and they taught others, but not in their hearts.

And he would say about them, do as they say, not as they do.

So for the scribe to show

not only understanding in his mind but in his heart.

That he has the Kingdom, he has the law in his heart, that was significant to Jesus and should be to us.

And he says, are not far from the Kingdom of God.

I can't think of too many times Jesus gives a compliment in the Gospel, but this is one of them.

Now he doesn't have the Kingdom in his soul yet.

He has the Lord in his mind, appears to be in his heart, but he's not baptized yet, presumably.

He's not a Christian.

That's when you and I received the Kingdom in our souls is at baptism.

And it was sealed in confirmation, it's been grown in the Eucharist, replenished in confession.

And that is most important in terms of our salvation.

To have the love of God, have the Kingdom of God in our souls.

And I think soul and strength are together.

Because that's really the challenge to the scribe.

Get your soul in order.

one day, and hopefully he was baptized one day.

But that strength to follow Jesus.

That strength to do the will of God.

When we think of ourselves, our parts, our love for God, we have love for God in our minds.

And hopefully it's growing the way we can show and answer with understanding.

That's so many things we're offering here is to grow in that understanding, grow in love of God in your mind.

We have love for God in our hearts.

We don't often know how to express it or how to live it.

That's then the love in our strength.

How do I show it?

How do I live it?

How do I do the will of God?

That was the challenge to this scribe.

You have the Kingdom in some parts of life, but not as much in others.

So when we think in our lives.

The love of God we have in our minds, in our hearts, in our souls, in our strengths, in our relationship to the Kingdom that we might use the words that are a popular saying in

the church.

Thanks be to God, I'm farther along than I used to be, but I'm not as far along as I should be.