"GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR'S ... TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S"

Tuesday, 06 June 2007

Reading: Mark 12:13-17

You know, it’s not always easy for me to come up with a good, short talk everyday, especially one for you. It would be easier if I went out into the streets and the malls, into factories and offices. For there I would find some people, maybe many, who seldom hear much about God, his love, and the way we are to live if we want to find real happiness. You come to Mass a lot, some of you everyday. You have as your priority in life - God’s will. You might not do God’s will all the time, but you really try hard. After all, none of us is perfect. But you do your best, and you come to church to thank God, praise him, and get his help.

All in all, you are among those who are really interested in the real reasons for our existence. You look beyond your short stay on earth towards an eternity in heaven. You try to do what it takes to live here while preparing to live there sometime in the future. You probably aren’t in any hurry to get there (to heaven) anymore than anyone else. But you aren’t ignoring the reality that someday it is going to happen. You are one of the faithful and one of the wise people of the world.

Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s but give to God what is God’s.” And that is what you are trying to do. You know you are a citizen of earth as well as a citizen of heaven. By trying to be a good one here, you are being a good one there, and becoming a better one in both places. God loves you. Keep loving him. Earth and heaven both need you.