TUESDAY HOMILY OF 9TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: CAESAR’S COIN
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’
In the Gospel reading of today (Mark 12:13-17), the Herodians (supporters of Roman empire) and sympathisers of the national party (Pharisees), come together to trap Jesus and put him into trouble; enemies becoming friends just to fight you. May they never succeed. Jesus’ response is never a theological lesson on politics and religion. But his intention is to reveal the hypocrisy of the gang. He asks them to give to Caesar what actually belongs to Caesar.
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We notice how they deceitfully sugar-coat their words about Him before laying their snare for Jesus. Not everyone who praises you is actually on your side. Some praises are traps or poisons set for you. Don’t feel too excited at every praise and ‘sweet-talk.’ We all need the grace of discernment to know the difference.
At that time, tax was paid in Roman coins which actually belonged to the emperor. It means that paying the tax is interpreted as returning to the emperor his property. At the same time, Jesus is indicting them in their relationship with God. He is also saying, “Be as conscious and dedicated in serving God as you are in serving civil authority. Be committed to God even more as you are committed to your job. Sometimes, if we deploy the same level of energy used in being manipulative, evil and wicked into the things of God, heaven will certainly be realized on earth in its fulness. However, we are mostly astute in evil and lukewarm in the things of God.
This passage has been widely misinterpreted and misrepresented in this part of the world to mean a Christian can be a servant to two masters; God and devil. That we can retain our Christian identity while showing commitment to the demands of African Traditional or Indigenous Religion with no harm to the Christian faith. The passage holds no excuse for us. It is even more about civil authority if we are talking about reason for comparison. We must not miss the background to the saying. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God have mercy on us, heal our world, bless and protect us all through Christ Our Lord Amen. Please, stay safe.
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