Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12,13-17
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.
Give back to Caesar what is Caesar´s and to God what is God´s
1) Be impartial and accept others. How nice it would be if people could say that about us. We should treat all people the same. We shouldn’t make friends just for our own benefit; we should have the grace of having a big, open heart that welcomes everyone . Like Jesus…. look at your heart and consider: How do you act towards others?… Do you treat everyone alike or do you get close to certain people just because they are popular or influential?
2) Give to Caesar. We Christians are called to be exemplary citizens, fulfilling our social and political obligations. Lay people are called to evangelize their community and to transmit the presence of God in everyday life. This implies evangelizing by complying with the rules; evangelizing by being punctual at work; evangelizing by paying employees what is fair; and evangelizing by seeking the best for all. Our life cannot be disconnected . We must be careful not to have a saintly face inside the Church, but outside we are harsh critics of it. The key is to fulfil social as well as religious responsibilities.
3) To God. It is good to remember that we must fulfill our religious obligations and by that, I mean your spiritual and material commitments. It’s not that I am asking you for money… But ask yourself, do you contribute to your church? Do you give your time, your money or your talents? It is good to remember that it is your responsibility and mine to collaborate, and this is not reduced to material help (although it is true that we Catholics have a reputation for being a little stingy), but it is also good to contribute time or certain talents that you can share to support the Church.
Remember that you are the Church and you build the Church; the living Church.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Remember: Heaven is our goal!
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