Gospel Reflections for October 22 2017
Jesus separates Church and State.
Religion and politics are in the news again. Both the Supreme Court and the Executive Branch have recently affirmed religious freedom in healthcare insurance issues.
Some history can help. In a letter to a small Baptist Church in 1801, President Thomas Jefferson reviewed the famous two clauses in the First Amendment that ensure the State will never establish a religion …nor interfere with the free exercise thereof; which in effect creates a kind of “wall of separation between Church and State.”
Jesus agrees with Jefferson in today’s Gospel, which is why the Catholic Church never endorses politicians, but only affirms moral ideals as our “free exercise of religion.” The exercise clause means we can publicly practice and live our Catholic faith. It is one of the most profound freedoms we enjoy as American citizens. We promote policies, not persons.
Jesus is asked today about paying taxes in Roman coins to Emperor Caesar. He teaches that the image on the coin shows a kind of “ownership” so a coin made with Caesar’s image means the coin belongs to him. This idea echoes our creation story in Genesis, where we are each made “in the image of God.”
We are each a kind of “coin” as well, and stamped with the image of God. We belong to Him! Our entire self; mind, heart, and soul belong to God.
That also means there is no time that we are not stamped in His image. Relationships are not “on and off again” events. When you leave your spouse to go to work …you do not stop being married! When parents drop a child off at school …they still remain parents.
Love strongly stamps you with the cherished image of your loved ones. In the same way, you cannot be Catholic on Sunday and then someone else on Monday. You want all your relationships to remain authentic wherever you are.
Both Jefferson and Our Lord affirm the American freedom you have to be true to yourself and the faith you have from God. You live both your faith and your citizenship every day, wherever you are; at work, at school, or at Church.
While we gratefully affirm the separation of Church and State, try as humbly as you can this week, to live in a way that shows there is no separation between yourself and God.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Your reference to Ceaser’s image and our being created in God’s image, and that each is a sign of ownership, really hit the spot. I also believe God continues to work on us every day until we reflect God’s image more and more every day, I think that’s what Paul means when he writes about putting on the mind of Christ.
Hope you’re doing well and no committee of disgruntled parisheners has started petitioning for a new pastor.
My health is so much better in the last few months. Driving and going to church after over a year, walking a mile, are all considered God’s glorious miracles in the Chabot households.
Love your sermons,
Roland Chabot
How great to hear from you my friend! You are the miracle we have been praying for all this time.
Thank you Father Dave,
You expressed it so well! I am forwarding this to my children and friends!
I hope they like the articles!
Thank God that no one can separate us from our God !! By living the gospel of Love and allowing the Word of God to enter our hearts we can be transformed into being more Christ like. I hope that makes us humble , patient and treat everyone with loving kindness.
God Bless you Fr. Dave
Well said!
“We are each a kind of “coin” as well, and stamped with the image of God. We belong to Him! Our entire self; mind, heart, and soul belong to God.
“That also means there is no time that we are not stamped in His image. Relationships are not “on and off again” events. When you leave your spouse to go to work …you do not stop being married! When parents drop a child off at school …they still remain parents.”
Thank you Father Dave for this thoughtful reflection. It brings a current event to our attention and helps me apply it to my faith,
I appreciate your analogies, because they draw me in to what you’re explaining. That helps me take it in and understand it in a more personal way.
You are very welcome!
I liked your line Fr. Dave…”You live both your faith and your citizenship every day”
We serve the world best by serving God first. The more we love God and our fellow man
the more truly we serve the world..
Well said!
I love your analogy to this reading. At a study today we talked about God’s love for us. Even when we blow it because He is our creator He can’t help but love us.
I am reminded of when my kids were growing up and we hit some real hard times. The kids reacted in some not so good responses. However they are doing great now and as a mother it is hard to see the past and only brag on their todays and tomorrows. If I am reminded of their past I can only laugh and look at how they have become. I believe God sees us in that light also. As we seek Him and read his word and try to follow it it helps us to grow with a deeper relationship with Our Lord.
By the way, I have a friend who is very much and Fundamentalist and says she will never join the Catholic Church.. Cute HUH??? Anyway, she isn’t going to any Church and has tried a few looking for the wrong things. So she told me tonight that the only Church she has found that deep relationship is at one of our Churches. She said she will not become Catholic. AH HUH I said. But kept my mouth shut (believe it or not). So through God’s word, which she loves, I believe she will be coming in some day… So please pray for Stephanie.
Great message! I think your patience will work wonders for her one day.
You beautifully liken Caesar’s coin to Christ’s “stamp” and ownership of us. We are all wrought of divine mint and nothing can expunge the indelible image Christ imbued us with except our own choice to separate through sin. History has shown us that Catholics have endured a long lineage of persecution, especially by the Episcopalians under Henry II’s reign and subsequent. I admire the prowess of such martyrs as Thomas Becket who remained steadfast in their faith and conviction at the price of death. I also appreciate the religious freedom we Catholics as well as other peoples of various faiths enjoy, that our country affords us. Hopefully we will continue to enjoy the separation of church and state.
I am glad you mention St. Thomas Becket, one of my all time favorite saints. How he ended his life was so different from how he started! The power of grace is amazing.
Dear Father Dave,
A timely gospel and a humbling lesson. Jesus was right in the middle of a two-sided “war” of the minds..
You’ve explained His position beautifully: a lesson taught, learned, and applied to today’s opposing points of view.
Today, the fever of news shows and political character bashing is awful, especially when the world is in turmoil and there are more important issues to be addressed.
Again, thanks so much for the time you spend writing your weekly address on the gospels.
Best wishes,
Kathleen
You are very welcome. I am glad you find these articles helpful. I think this Gospel is especially powerful.
Thanks Father, this reminds me of a friend priest of mine, who at 90 yrs old still says Mass during Sundays over at a parish in Santa Clara, CA. His dedication reminds me of your explanation:
“This idea echoes our creation story in Genesis, where we are each made “in the image of God.” ”
I just thought of how I could fit into his type of spirituality. Perhaps, it is a long road ahead. Be that as it may, it still feels good to know that God never changes–if we are in his image, is it a fair assessment that we can never change too? or that our essence has already been precluded, that we will one day come back to Him as in the parable of the seven virgins?
Dee
God is love, and love is very dynamic, changing and growing all the time. That is the beautiful image in which we are made. God’s love for us never changes, that is also for sure.