Friends, life can be ________.
How would you complete that sentence? Is life a drudgery? Some days yes, it can feel that way. Is it difficult? Life can be challenging depending at times on our circumstances and the choices we make.
Personally, when I read of how we are called to accept crosses in our lives, in my life, I bristle inside a bit. I don't welcome crosses very well. I can list the innumerable ways I am blessed but I have my moments if not days when I feel as though the minor crosses I bear have me feeling like I am being cornered, allowing a multitude of situations to dominate my thinking, trying to find answers to my issues is my not needing God. Silly.
What can we turn to? The better question is; Who can we turn to? We know that answer but we forget and we work at figuring things out on our own.
In today's Gospel (Mk 12:13-17) the Pharisees and followers of Herod, the Herodians, wanted to figure out whether Caesar was owed the census tax or not. They tried to paint Jesus in a corner, and by the sounds of their question, it was an excellent attempt. "Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Hmmm.
There appears to be no way out for Jesus. Kind of a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. If Jesus tells them that the tax should not be paid we know that these questioners would march immediately to Caesar or his cohorts to report Jesus and have Him arrested. If He were to say yes, to pay the tax is lawful, then He would be viewed as siding with Rome and His mission takes a significant hit. So, which is the correct answer?
Jesus. God. There's our answer.
This wasn't Jesus being cornered but rather Jesus using the situation to show them, to teach them that He is the correct response. While the money, the coin (denari) Jesus asked to see certainly had the image of Caesar His instructions are that we ought to repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and we ought to repay to God what belongs to God. God trumps Caesar every time.
What does belong to God?
I think this is a good, prayerful question. Think about what belongs to God and it may result in a greater appreciation for everything we have been given.
When we can find ourselves seemingly painted into a corner by a world that works hard at pushing God off the stage, we need to remember that He has not gone anywhere. We may not have an eloquent response for every situation but having steadfastness in faith that God will have His way is the trust we need to have.
Everything we have is a gift. Literally everything, and the repayment, our gratitude is our worship, our relationship with Him. What God has bestowed on us we cannot fully describe. We can rest with the fact that even among our struggles we have life, free will, and all of creation.
Jesus cannot be painted in a corner and we have recourse to Him through prayer when we feel we are in a corner.
He does.
