Image: from the Calvin Institute
From this weekend's gospel:
The Pharisees asked:
"Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."
"Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."
What would you preach this Sunday,
with the election only 17 days away?
with the election only 17 days away?
The weekend is upon us! Time to take a look at the scriptures for Mass this Sunday and to prepare to hear the Word the Lord will speak to us.
For scripture passages, background material and even something to help children prepare for Mass, head right here.
-ConcordPastor
I would preach the importance of integrity, humility and empathy.
ReplyDeleteThe bishop currently administering the archdiocese of St. Louis has made a strong plea to those in Missouri to pray the Rosary in regards to the election. He says, again and again, that the election is about "Save the Children." http://www.stlreview.com/article.php?id=16208
ReplyDeleteBased on my Arise group I think the message is that we as followers of Jesus Christ are called to act with justice. By this I mean that of course we are influenced by our world and the political ckimate that we are living in but our first allegience to God and the poor, hungry, homeless etc. In other words we do "report" to a higher authority. We must respect all people even if they don't look or smell good !!
ReplyDeleteI would preach that it is time for peace in our hearts, peace in our country, peace in our world. How does each of us become an instrument for that peace. Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. Take each line and amplify it to today's situation. And/or use John XXIII's Peace encyclical. There is so much hatred, so much injustice in our world. Perhaps, the economic crisis that the US now finds itself in will bring the humility to seek goals that will benefit all of our brothers and sisters in our world community.
ReplyDeleteI think that there are some wise people who read this blog... great suggestions.
ReplyDeleteAs to what I would preach - I think I might go towards the how the great tradition of Catholic social justice is bigger than the US, has a longer history and that it is both our gift and our burden to share that, rather to live that.
That may be done within the confines of our nation, but always mindful that God's boundaries are far reaching and merciful.
I would ask the question of people - how can we walk humbly with our God and how can we give dignity, hope and safety to all human life.
Somehow this all sounds flat... which is why I so admire a good homilist.
Thanks for this thought provoking post.
I long to hear words that are soothing and filled with compassion and kindness. The past few weeks the air has been charged with words that are stressful, hateful, resentful. Yes, the election is close but it is fostering many ugly words. We need to remember to respect/tolerate differing points of view. Anything but the topics of money and taxes.
ReplyDeleteConnect the election with Catholic social teaching. Reflect on the importance of our duties and rights as US citizens as well as our duties as followers of Christ. A homilist this Sunday could talk about the pressing needs of our times, helping to alleviate poverty in this troubled economy,protecting the environment etc. We must,to the best of our ability make a choice based on our informed consciences not only our wallets. We should weigh all important moral issues, not only one. There might be separation of church and state but there is, IMO, no separation between my Catholic Christian faith and my choices as a responsible US citizen.
ReplyDeleteAnne
I think I might preach something that speaks to all of us who are living in a very uncertain, conflicting, confusing world.
ReplyDeleteAnd... to us who are living those same things in our inner worlds...
This week I have experienced a few moments of peace and comfort, (amidst a whole lot of pain... and silence on my part)- and for this I am most grateful. These moments all had something in common: God.
I was given this week, the opportunity to see, (even for a very short time), that God DOES hear me, even and maybe especially in my most silent times, when there are no words.
I have been trying to explore prayer (and find God) "in a new way"- in "unexpected" places, with whomever I am with, wherever I am, and however I feel.
Mother Teresa, no slouch in the area of Catholic social teaching, a woman who acted rather than talked the game, had her own prescription for justice, for a way to end war and violence. She also decried the moral blindness of those who failed to listen:
ReplyDelete"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.
"And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? ...By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.
"And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.
"Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.
"Many people are very, very concerned with the children of India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today - abortion which brings people to such blindness."