22nd Sunday after Pentecost 24 October 2021 Give to Caesar
Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God's (Mt 22,21).
Some would say nothing is God's and close Him out completely.
Others would give Him only what ceremony or custom require, such as Midnight Mass and weddings and other formal occasions.
Others again would see Him as an authority figure, to be avoided as much as possible.
Our understanding is that everything belongs to God at least insofar as He has a say in how we use it.
He does not need our houses and cars or any other possession, but He has an interest in whether we use them for His glory, or we think they are entirely our own to use as we please.
We give to God our obedience, trust, gratitude, even abandonment to His will.
What remains for Caesar is that we operate in the worldly sphere, and Caesar represents all that is legitimate in that sphere.
So we are honest in our business dealings, and we do not steal or cheat; and we do not covet what our neighbours have etc.
We give priority to the spiritual domain but that will always coincide with the best way of handling material concerns.
For example, if we trust in God's providence we will see there is no need to steal.
If we love God first, we will find happiness in Him, and not be drawn to false and harmful pleasures, such as through impurity and drugs.
If we worship God we will not be worried about our own social standing, but be happy to be seen as a servant of Christ.
It all hinges on our attitude towards God.
If we reduce Him to zero or only partial relevance we will have a very diminished life.
Instead we seek Him out; we give Him due place in our lives.
God wants us to understand Him as more desirable than any other person, thing or activity; to be appreciated, thanked, obeyed, adored, seen as a source of blessing.
God is as relevant as any being can be. He is the referral point to everything else. He is there first and last.
He cannot be removed even if we deny or defy Him – He cannot be removed from existence; nor can His plans be derailed.
Where do we look, and how far, in trying to keep God in mind?
He does not expect us to think of Him every second of the day, but if we are absorbed in the material domain we will still be operating by spiritual principles.
If we do not know exactly God’s will at every point, we can at least avoid things which we know will displease Him – such as any form of sin.
Then we can sort out more specific responses to His will, as we grow in wisdom.
We develop a sense of what He wants, His general approach, as we learn from revelation and inspired writings, and example.
We have all the formal events still, but not in such a way that we present as strangers. We do this every day anyway – that is, we pray. Sometimes we are a bit more formal than others but always with the same idea.
Praying will not become a dull routine if we stay sensitive to God's presence. It is an adventure to be involved with Him. Look at the saints, and what they experienced. We can be part of that world.
We do not have to pray 24 hours on our knees, but nor do we ignore God for 24 hours either. We find the balance, which will always be in general terms that the spiritual world governs the material.
Everything comes from God, is kept in being by Him, and directs back to Him.
All praise and thanks to Him.
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