From a Homily on Oct 19th:
and to God what belongs to God."
(MT 22:-21)
Some interpret Today's Gospel
as dealing with the separation between Church and State, while others focus on
We belong to God. Therefore we should
give ourselves 100% to God.
The first thing we should note
is that the question put to Jesus was meant to trap Him not seek His wisdom.
The Pharisees hated the Roman
tax. The Herodians, those Jews who supported the Roman puppet King Herod,
supported the tax. Both these groups hated each other, but they joined together
to trap Jesus for their own reasons.
As Jews, both these groups
should have rejected graven images as violations of the First Commandment. But Jesus asks them for a coin, which they
gave Him.
It is Important to Note that
both they and Jesus were in the Temple
No good Jew would be caught
with such a coin on the Temple
Whose image do others see when
they look at our life? When people see us, do they see Jesus engraved upon us?
To the extent that they do, that's the extent to which we belong to the Kingdom of God
So these questions remain:
What is Caesar’s, and what is God’s?
Is there anything at all that
is not God’s – is there anything at all in human activity that does not stand
under God’s judgment? Are we, as modern day Americans, exempting anything from
God’s attention?
Jesus’ response indicates that
one’s citizenship does not have to be at odds with one’s faith; in fact, when
government seeks to provide for the just welfare of its citizens, it becomes a
vehicle for establishing the reign of God.
In the United States
But where is it written that
freedom of religion means freedom from
religion? Are people of faith obliged not to express their beliefs and put
them into practice in the public domain?
We must remember that while
rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s, we must still render to God what is
God’s.
Does God have expectations of
us with regard to our civic order? Are our public policies to be exercised freed
from God’s norms and apart from God’s will?
Freedom of religion isn’t
confined to how one worships on Sunday. People of belief should be able to practice
in public what they belief in Sunday worship.
Thomas Jefferson and many of
our founding forbearers clearly held to the position that we must be a moral
nation if our republic is to endure.
The founders of our nation had
strong religious beliefs and they founded our nation on firmly held positions
that derived from their faith in God.
Our Creator, they declared,
endows us with unalienable human rights.
Abraham Lincoln, in his
monumental effort to preserve our union repeatedly appealed to God in his
famous and powerful speeches.
None of these men would
subscribe to the notion that freedom of religion means freedom from
religion in our civic life and in the fabric of our republic.
What, then, is Caesar’s and
what is God’s? Reasonable people may differ in the application of answers to
that question.
However, No matter how much
reasonable people may differ, it is unreasonable to assert the notion that our
American republic was built on the secularist notion that freedom of religion
in these United States
God and Caesar do not have to
be at odds, Jesus tells the Pharisees.
In God, we realize the dignity of every man, woman and child as sons and
daughters of God and our brothers and sisters.
In setting up systems of
government, we provide for the common good of one another and protect the
welfare of all, providing for public safety, educational opportunities and
clean water and air.
What is Caesar’s and what is
God’s? The question is just as important to us now as it was when it was put to
Jesus.
And so is its answer.
Remember -Your vote matters.
What Belongs to God - You Do!
We Our His Treasure!
In All
that we Say and Do,
May
Jesus Christ Be Praised, Now and Forever, Amen!
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