The Kingdom of God Is Here, But Not Fully
Jesus told the scribe he was near the Kingdom. Near is not inside.
Dear friends —
Letters from Leo is publishing daily Lenten reflections through Easter, available exclusively to paid subscribers.
Each meditation will explore what it means to follow Jesus more faithfully in the midst of American civic and political life — not as partisans first, but as Christians whose consciences are shaped by the Cross.
Lent is a season of repentance, renewal, and resolve.
It is a time to confront our idols, strip away our illusions, and allow the light of God’s redeeming love to search and purify our hearts.
I hope you will walk this forty-day road with me — as your brother and fellow sinner — embracing prayer, sacrifice, and deeper conversion, and allowing the God of liberation to claim every corner of our lives and our public witness in an age of creeping authoritarianism.
“Repent, says the Lord; the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” — (Matthew 4:17)
There is a moment in today’s Gospel I keep coming back to. A scribe has just asked Jesus the right question and heard the right answer. He repeats it back correctly. He even goes further, noting that love of God and neighbor surpasses every burnt offering and sacrifice. Jesus looks at him.
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
Not there. Near. But not there.
I have been sitting with that distance today.
The scribe hasn’t failed. He has understood something most people never do — that all the rules, all the rituals, all the elaborate machinery of religious observance, are just scaffolding around a single act of love. He sees through to the center. And Jesus doesn’t say he’s wrong. He says he’s near.
But near is not inside.
