9 March 2018
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
Once, an old Jesuit gave me advice that sounded cliché. He said that if I do not like someone or if someone is annoying me, that I should try to get to know him better and hopefully I will be able appreciate this person more. Often times, I fail to practice this advice as my tendency is to pull away when someone is annoying me. But, there are a few instances when I have been successful in applying the wisdom of the old Jesuit. A few years ago, I had an encounter with a lay woman in ministry. She had been annoying since our first meeting. However, since we had to work together on the same ministerial team, I tried to get to know her better. The advice of the old Jesuit worked and we have become good friends ever since.
In the Gospel reading, we hear that Jesus declares that the scribe is not far from God’s kingdom. This is a surprising statement from Jesus. What is unique about Mark’s version of the debate about the love commandments are the friendly tone displayed by the scribe and Jesus. Moreover, Jesus gives an affirmation that the Scribe is not far from the Kingdom of God. In short, the exchange about the great commandment is not a setting of conflict as portrayed in Matthew and Luke’s Gospel. But rather, it is like a Socratic dialog between teacher and student.
During the remainder of the Lenten season, perhaps you can try to get to know someone better, especially a person who annoys you or a person that you do not like. Like what Jesus is doing in the Gospel of Mark, you can try having a friendly conversation instead of a combative exchange.