Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
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The Pharisees knew how much the Jews hated paying taxes to Rome. They wanted their own land and government; they wanted to rule themselves; they had their own God to worship.
So, if Jesus tells the Jews it’s lawful to pay their taxes, then he’ll appear to be a friend of Rome and in clear opposition to the Jewish cause.
But if he tells the Jews not to pay their taxes, then he could be arrested for being an enemy of the state.
It’s a catch-22.
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“Bring me a denarius to look at,”Jesus says.
Where else will the Pharisees draw this coin from but their very own pockets? As much as they hate to admit it, they, too, pay their taxes.
“So, repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” Jesus says. But, “give to God what belongs to God.”
If we are to pay our fair share of taxes to the government – offering a percentage of our hard earned wealth – then what must we give to God?
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Our very selves.
In one of the first verses in the bible, God says, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.”
Every human being bears the image of God, not of Caesar. And if we bear God’s image, then we belong entirely to him.
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Pay your taxes.
But give your life to God.
What might that look like for me today?
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Image credits: (1) God the Father, Cima da Conegliano, The Courtauld (2) Denarius, Wikipedia (3) Sistine Chapel
Beloved: May grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.
The Word of the Lord.
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By the end of the first century, there were an estimated 10,000 Christians living in the Roman Empire, roughly 0.02% of the entire population. Two-hundred years later, Christians accounted for 10% of the population, roughly 6 million people.
It’s hard to imagine the Church growing under dire circumstances. But in spite of Christians being persecuted, treated like second-class citizens, and some even abandoned by their families, our faith spread like wildfire.
Why?
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While there are many factors to consider – above all the gift of the Holy Spirit – there were three key themes, which also serve as the pillars of our parish mission statement: Belong. Believe. Behave.
Even amongst the pagans, Christians were known for their resourcefulness and charity. They cared for their widows and orphans; they lived in community; and, when necessary, they even gave their lives for each other.
In a word, they “belonged” to each other.
They also believed what Christ taught. Not simply in terms of bearing knowledge; they also shaped their lives accordingly. Perhaps one of the most important teachings Christians clung to was their belief in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.
As Saint Justin Martyr, whose feast day we celebrate today, wrote in the year 130 AD, “The bread and wine become the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.”
Catholics still hold this belief today.
Finally, they behaved like their Lord; they integrated Christ’s teachings of love and forgiveness so deeply into their lives that unbelievers became believers.
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The early Christians remind us that the Church can – and should – grow under any circumstance. While the challenges we face today may differ, the opportunity for growth comes at the same cost.
We will convert the nations if we belong to each other; believe what Christ taught; and behave accordingly.
Saint Justin Martyr, pray for us.
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Image credits: (1) Churchgrowth.org.uk (2) Christian Catholic Media (3) Word on Fire
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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What is one thing, perhaps the deepest thing, that every human being desires?
A share of human happiness.
The good news is that it ispossible for us to find it. In fact, God wants us to find it. We were createdto find it.
The bad news is that human happiness cannot be bought, sold, or manufactured; it cannot be found in things, no matter how hard we may try to convince ourselves otherwise.
Human happiness is the byproduct of healthy relationships.
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Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday, our belief that God is Father, Son, and Spirit. One God in three Persons. In a word, God is a relationship.
While this sounds like a great mystery – and it is – we experience this truth in our very being, because the stronger our relationships are, the happier we become.
Conversely, the more isolated we are, the more depressed we become. As the old saying goes, “No man is an island.” We need each other in order to find fulfillment.
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Consider the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
In the beginning, God created the world and everything in it, giving Adam dominion over all of creation. But it was not enough. God even admitted, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” So, God put Adam to sleep and formed Eve out of his side.
When Adam first encounters Eve, he rejoices, saying, “This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!”
They were happy together!
It is only after they disobey God, eating from the tree of knowledge, that sin enters into their relationship, they blame each other, and everything falls apart.
Adam and Eve teach us that human beings are meant to live together. But the same relationships which cause the greatest joy can also cause us the greatest pain, frustrating our most fundamental identity of being made in God’s image and likeness.
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Sometimes this is true in marriage.
Marriage lays the groundwork for some of the deepest intimacy possible between two human beings. But, if we can love each other intimately, then we can also hurt each other deeply.
Think about what happens when spouses fight. A small spat can escalate to raised voices, insults, even a wounded heart. After each person has said whatever hurtful thought comes to mind, each goes their separate way.
Work in the yard, get out of the house, run an errand, sleep in separate rooms. Anything to be apart. That physical distance represents the emotional, and sometimes spiritual, separation that has taken place, much like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
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The same can be true with children.
One sibling irritates another. Suddenly, a war of words, or worse, fists, breaks out. Parents can exhaust themselves trying to convince their children to apologize and keep the peace.
Sometimes the only form of “healing” that arises is silence. But we all know that just buries the hurt deep inside our psyche, underneath the blanket of time.
If these hurts are not healed, then they can fester to the point that they remain perpetually in the present. The silence turns into a grudge, and that grudge can slowly harden into hatred.
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This is why Trinity Sunday matters so much.
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Sometimes we need a reminder that we’re all made in the image and likeness of God, who lives in perfect relationship. But in the inner life of God, there are no walls; there are no arguments; there are no apologies needed; there is no separation.
There is pure, unfiltered love.
Thus, we become our happiest selves when we mirror the Trinity in our own relationships, living without tension and unresolved conflict.
As Saint Paul says in our second reading, “Brothers and sisters, rejoice! Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
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What are the most important relationships in my life?
When have I experienced conflict in these relationships?
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May the God who lives in perfect harmony come to our aid, giving us the grace to also live in unity. For the closer we are to each other, the more we not only reflect the inner life of God, but the happier we also become.
And who doesn’t want that?
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Image credits: (1) Our Sunday Visitor Magazine (2) The Pursuit of Happyness (3) Diocese of Rapid City
