The following is used by permission from the blog Echoing Hope, written by Jonathan Lewis, a DRE in Mill Valley, CA.
Matthew 22: 15-21
In today’s Gospel passage the Jewish leaders are trying to trick Jesus into getting in trouble with the government (Roman Empire) by trying to get him to say that a person need not pay taxes (since paying taxes wasn’t one of the Jewish laws).Jesus responds by asking them: whose face is imprinted on the coins? When they respond “Caesar” He tells them that they should “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”.
It is important as Christians for us to live a life of justice: giving each person what is owed to them. But how do we give God what belongs to Him? What belongs to God? We believe that God created the world, every person, and everything. Every day God continues to give us life and love as a free gift. While Caesar’s face was imprinted on coins, the face of God is imprinted on each of our hearts. We are called to give God our whole selves, everything that we are, nothing less. We do this by resembling God in our thoughts, words and actions.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
- What is one way I resemble God and share His presence with others?
- What is one way I need to work on resembling God and sharing His presence with others?
- Imagine that the laws of the Government and God’s laws worked together. What would be different here in Vienna?
Dear God, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings this day. I believe that I am your beloved Son/Daughter. Help me to be the best version of myself so that I may resemble Jesus and share His love with everyone I see today. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?