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Everything Is Gift
4 min
Gospel
Mt 22:15-21
Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle him in his talk. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Hero′di-ans, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax.” And they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Readings are taken from Dynamic Catholic’s Bible: RSV Catholic Edition.
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Transcript
Everything Is Gift
It's a brilliant scene, isn't it? They come to trap Him. I love the opening lines of their thing. It's like, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the ways of God truthfully, and have no regard for the position of man." So it's like they're lying, lying, lying, lying, and then trying to ensnare Him in this ridiculousness. And as always, Jesus has this paradigm through which to see life. Not just an answer to their trap, to their question.
It's an answer to, "How do we order our days? How do we bring order to our days in a chaotic world?" Jesus says, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." If you think about yesterday, did You give to the world what was the world's, and to God what was God's?
And if you think about yesterday, how could You have done that better? How could You have given God what was His more effectively, with more love, with more enthusiasm? Are we giving to God what is rightfully God's? Because that's what the real message is here. It's got nothing to do with Caesar.
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's." That's not the message. That's irrelevant. It's that last bit, "And render unto God the things that are God's." And are we mindful? Okay, what is God's? Everything. Everything is gift. All is grace. Without the gifts and the grace, there's nothing. Without the gifts and the grace, You're nothing, I'm nothing, there is nothing.
Everything is gift. Everything is grace. We should be dancing blissfully in an unending praise of gratitude for God. That's reality. In Him, we live and move and have our being. Without Him, we don't live, we don't move, and there is no being. We don't exist.
"Render unto God the things that are God's." It's a mini Gospel. Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold. Be Catholic.
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