A scribe asks Jesus the greatest-commandment question and, for once in Mark, agrees with the answer wholeheartedly. Jesus tells him: you are not far from the kingdom of God.

Not far. It is one of the most hope-filled and unsettling sentences in the Gospels, close enough to see in, near enough to step. Today's readings are for everyone in the doorway.

The scribe had the theology exactly right, love God entirely, love neighbor as self, worth more than every offering, and Jesus still said not far rather than arrived. Because the kingdom is not a quiz to pass; it is a King to follow, and He was standing within arm's reach, days from a cross, waiting to be trusted rather than merely graded correct.

Plenty of people live at not far: right answers, real respect for Jesus, and one unstepped step. If that is your address, hear the warmth in His voice, He is not pushing you away; He is holding the door. The God of the living is easy to reach from where you stand. Step.