"Give, Give, Give...": The 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We've heard the passage a hundred times: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, give to God is God's." Some commentators remark on the fact that a bystander had to hand Jesus the coin which he used to illustrate his point. As a pious Jew, Jesus would not have carried on his person a graven image of an emperor who considered himself a god. Given this clash between faith and government, someone reflecting on this gospel might find compare the situation confronting Jesus to contemporary issues involving the separation of church and state, i.e. Ten Commandment monuments on courthouse lawns; taxpayer funds used for abortion/stem cell research; the reference to 'one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, etc.
As I try to engage this week's readings from a "person-in-the-pew" perspective, I find myself being drawn not to politics, but to the fact that all aspects of society, not jsut government and religion, but family, school, community, work place etc. all impose many demands...serious damands.
So, when we come to gospel passage like this, aren't many of us left with a feeling of being overwhelmed? Give to Caesar, give to God, give to work, give to family, give to Scouts, give to the needy, give, give, give!
I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. In this book, Spirituality @ Work, Gregory Pierce paints the picture well:
No one works in only one arena. Most of us have jobs, family responsibilities, personal interests, and church and community involvements. And often our different responsibilities are in competition. We need to develop some way of reviewing each situation and deciding what we really need to do. Is one of our children having trouble in school? Are we under special stress at work because of a big threat or an opportunity? Do we need more time with a friend or spouse of by ourselves? Is there a crisis in our community or our church that must be addressed?
If you have any suggestions on how this week's readings might help busy Christians "decide what we really need to do" in the midst of many conflicting demands, let us hear from you.
FIRST DRAFT OF THIS WEEK'S HOMILY
(constructive criticism is appreciated; post comments on the discussion forum or e-mail them to me directly at jms48@fuse.net)
My cousin Jesse was at the License Bureau last week
to renew his driver’s license.
Now, as most of you know, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
does not accept credit cards.
Unfortunately, Jesse did not have his check book with him
and the cash in his wallet was just short of the money he needed
to pay the fee.
“Don’t worry,” he told the woman at the counter. “I’ll be right back!”
He went to his pickup and came back with two rolls of quarters
and one roll of dimes.
He placed them on the counter.
The clerk look at him and shook her head.
“We don’t take rolls of coin.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t accept rolled coins for payment.”
“But it’s legal tender.”
“Our manager does not allow us accept rolls of coin.”
“But it’s real money.”
She shakes her head.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“No rolls of coin.”
At this point, Jesse leans on the counter, looks her in the eye and says,
“Would you like me to unwrap for you?”
***
When Jesse told me that story,
I immediately thought of today’s gospel.
Why?
Because it’s easy to imagine the exasperation
in Jesse’s voice as being very similar
to the exasperation in Jesus’ voice
when the argument turned,
not on the acceptability of a roll of coins
but whether or not a Jew in first century Palestine
should use a Roman coin to pay the Roman tax.
Jesus looks at the coin.
It is inscribed with the graven image of Caesar
who considered himself a pagan god.
Surely, the graven image—a violation of the First Commandment—
made the coin itself a thing of disgust to Jesus.
(You’ll notice he did not carry any such coin on his person…
he had to ask if someone in the crowd for one.)
He studies it
then hands it back to the person and basically says,
“What does this have to do with God?”
Well, you and I have a lot more than tax to use our coins on:
We might not give to Caesar, but we give to Uncle Sam
and we give to Wal-Mart
and we give to Kroger’s
and we give to Thornton’s
we give to the university
we give to the church
we give to the parish festival
we give to lawyer who makes out our will
we give to the doctor who checks our heart
we give to the cable television company
the electric company…
and the Pro Bass Shop
and Le Bella Salon
and the list goes on and on.
What’s it got to do with God?
Most of us struggle with trying to live lives torn to shreds
and worn to frazzles by demands…all kinds of demands.
Well, the people of Jesus’ day had their troubles and confusions as well.
And when their demands got the better of them,
he helped them cut through the muck.
And he did so by reminding them of the stripping life down to its essential purpose
and that purpose is found in God.
And in God alone.
“What’s it have to with God?”
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s…”
what’s Jesus saying here?
He’s saying it doesn’t matter if ol’ Caesar takes personal checks,
or American Express
or a pocketful of rolled coins…
It didn’t matter then and it doesn’t matter now
because the only thing that really matters
is what matters to God.
“Go ahead,” Jesus says,
“Give what you have to give to the world…
and to the Caesars of the world.
But give to God what belongs to God.”
And what, exactly, belongs to God?
Well, It’s not your wallet,
it’s your heart.
Most of you know that I train horses on the side.
Well, there’s a common phrase that horse owners use
when their mounts scrap a knee on a rock
or get cut by barbed wire in a paddock or a locust thorn in the woods.
If the injury isn’t serious,
it’s dismissed with the words,
“It’s a long way from the heart.”
It seems to me that this passage communicating a similar reality:
That Roman coin represents something that is “a long way”
from a heart that is set on God.
Which would feels better in your pocket?
A handful of coins or the beads of a rosary?
On a bad day, the clatter of a rosary touches my heart
in a way that the jingle of quarters never will.
What about you?
Do the frantic thoughts associated with the MasterCard statement
compare to the feeling that wells up in your heart
when you write a check
to Catholic Relief Services
or Bread for the World
or Save the Children Fund?
Giving to God is nothing like giving to Caesar.
As far as God is concerned,
“legal tender” means “a tender heart.”
And today’s gospel is telling us that
being in touch with God
is the antidote to being out of touch with your heart.
We all have bills to pay.
We all have schedules to keep
and obligations to meet…
But giving to God what is God’s
is what happens when you stumble down a dim hall at night
to fall back asleep in a chair with a child in your arms.
Giving to God is what happens on the first day of school
when drop your five-year-old off at school
and come home and see the tricycle
sitting lonely and silent in the corner of the garage.
Giving to God is what happens
when a co-worker comes to your office cubicle
and looks you in the eye
then asks you to say a prayer for their child,
a young Marine who is headed off for Iraq.
Giving to God is what happens
when come to Mass and you tell Christ
that you want to love him with all your heart
and you leave Mass knowing that Christ loves you with all of his.
Each one of here this morning…
we all know what it means to give to Caesar…
Let’s not forget…let’s never forget
what it means to give to God.
As I try to engage this week's readings from a "person-in-the-pew" perspective, I find myself being drawn not to politics, but to the fact that all aspects of society, not jsut government and religion, but family, school, community, work place etc. all impose many demands...serious damands.
So, when we come to gospel passage like this, aren't many of us left with a feeling of being overwhelmed? Give to Caesar, give to God, give to work, give to family, give to Scouts, give to the needy, give, give, give!
I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. In this book, Spirituality @ Work, Gregory Pierce paints the picture well:
No one works in only one arena. Most of us have jobs, family responsibilities, personal interests, and church and community involvements. And often our different responsibilities are in competition. We need to develop some way of reviewing each situation and deciding what we really need to do. Is one of our children having trouble in school? Are we under special stress at work because of a big threat or an opportunity? Do we need more time with a friend or spouse of by ourselves? Is there a crisis in our community or our church that must be addressed?
If you have any suggestions on how this week's readings might help busy Christians "decide what we really need to do" in the midst of many conflicting demands, let us hear from you.
FIRST DRAFT OF THIS WEEK'S HOMILY
(constructive criticism is appreciated; post comments on the discussion forum or e-mail them to me directly at jms48@fuse.net)
My cousin Jesse was at the License Bureau last week
to renew his driver’s license.
Now, as most of you know, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
does not accept credit cards.
Unfortunately, Jesse did not have his check book with him
and the cash in his wallet was just short of the money he needed
to pay the fee.
“Don’t worry,” he told the woman at the counter. “I’ll be right back!”
He went to his pickup and came back with two rolls of quarters
and one roll of dimes.
He placed them on the counter.
The clerk look at him and shook her head.
“We don’t take rolls of coin.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t accept rolled coins for payment.”
“But it’s legal tender.”
“Our manager does not allow us accept rolls of coin.”
“But it’s real money.”
She shakes her head.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“No rolls of coin.”
At this point, Jesse leans on the counter, looks her in the eye and says,
“Would you like me to unwrap for you?”
***
When Jesse told me that story,
I immediately thought of today’s gospel.
Why?
Because it’s easy to imagine the exasperation
in Jesse’s voice as being very similar
to the exasperation in Jesus’ voice
when the argument turned,
not on the acceptability of a roll of coins
but whether or not a Jew in first century Palestine
should use a Roman coin to pay the Roman tax.
Jesus looks at the coin.
It is inscribed with the graven image of Caesar
who considered himself a pagan god.
Surely, the graven image—a violation of the First Commandment—
made the coin itself a thing of disgust to Jesus.
(You’ll notice he did not carry any such coin on his person…
he had to ask if someone in the crowd for one.)
He studies it
then hands it back to the person and basically says,
“What does this have to do with God?”
Well, you and I have a lot more than tax to use our coins on:
We might not give to Caesar, but we give to Uncle Sam
and we give to Wal-Mart
and we give to Kroger’s
and we give to Thornton’s
we give to the university
we give to the church
we give to the parish festival
we give to lawyer who makes out our will
we give to the doctor who checks our heart
we give to the cable television company
the electric company…
and the Pro Bass Shop
and Le Bella Salon
and the list goes on and on.
What’s it got to do with God?
Most of us struggle with trying to live lives torn to shreds
and worn to frazzles by demands…all kinds of demands.
Well, the people of Jesus’ day had their troubles and confusions as well.
And when their demands got the better of them,
he helped them cut through the muck.
And he did so by reminding them of the stripping life down to its essential purpose
and that purpose is found in God.
And in God alone.
“What’s it have to with God?”
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s…”
what’s Jesus saying here?
He’s saying it doesn’t matter if ol’ Caesar takes personal checks,
or American Express
or a pocketful of rolled coins…
It didn’t matter then and it doesn’t matter now
because the only thing that really matters
is what matters to God.
“Go ahead,” Jesus says,
“Give what you have to give to the world…
and to the Caesars of the world.
But give to God what belongs to God.”
And what, exactly, belongs to God?
Well, It’s not your wallet,
it’s your heart.
Most of you know that I train horses on the side.
Well, there’s a common phrase that horse owners use
when their mounts scrap a knee on a rock
or get cut by barbed wire in a paddock or a locust thorn in the woods.
If the injury isn’t serious,
it’s dismissed with the words,
“It’s a long way from the heart.”
It seems to me that this passage communicating a similar reality:
That Roman coin represents something that is “a long way”
from a heart that is set on God.
Which would feels better in your pocket?
A handful of coins or the beads of a rosary?
On a bad day, the clatter of a rosary touches my heart
in a way that the jingle of quarters never will.
What about you?
Do the frantic thoughts associated with the MasterCard statement
compare to the feeling that wells up in your heart
when you write a check
to Catholic Relief Services
or Bread for the World
or Save the Children Fund?
Giving to God is nothing like giving to Caesar.
As far as God is concerned,
“legal tender” means “a tender heart.”
And today’s gospel is telling us that
being in touch with God
is the antidote to being out of touch with your heart.
We all have bills to pay.
We all have schedules to keep
and obligations to meet…
But giving to God what is God’s
is what happens when you stumble down a dim hall at night
to fall back asleep in a chair with a child in your arms.
Giving to God is what happens on the first day of school
when drop your five-year-old off at school
and come home and see the tricycle
sitting lonely and silent in the corner of the garage.
Giving to God is what happens
when a co-worker comes to your office cubicle
and looks you in the eye
then asks you to say a prayer for their child,
a young Marine who is headed off for Iraq.
Giving to God is what happens
when come to Mass and you tell Christ
that you want to love him with all your heart
and you leave Mass knowing that Christ loves you with all of his.
Each one of here this morning…
we all know what it means to give to Caesar…
Let’s not forget…let’s never forget
what it means to give to God.
posted by BlueCollarPreacher at 1:17 PM
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