Daily Gospel Reflection June 2nd 2020
Gospel MK 12:13-17
Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent
to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him,
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion.
You do not regard a person’s status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or should we not pay?”
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them,
“Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one to him and he said to them,
“Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
They were utterly amazed at him.
to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him,
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion.
You do not regard a person’s status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or should we not pay?”
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them,
“Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one to him and he said to them,
“Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
They were utterly amazed at him.
Dear Friends and Family,
Today’s
gospel includes the confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish authorities, who
wanted to ensnare him. Their approach
reveals an ulterior motive. The
Pharisees and Herodians have crafted the perfect question. If Jesus says pay the tax, the people will
reject him because they are oppressed by the Roman taxes. If Jesus says don’t pay the tax, this will be
an act of defiance against the Romans and they will punish him. No matter which way Jesus responds, he will
lose. Fortunately, God’s ways are
greater than ours and God can’t be trapped.
The beauty of Jesus’ escape is that he uses the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees and the Herodians against them.
Jesus asks for a denarius. Faithful
Jews would not possess such a coin because it had the face of Caesar on the
coin. Jews reject all graven images as
they are considered a form of idolatry.
Then Jesus says something quite profound, “Repay to Caesar what belongs
to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
This is
profound because Jesus is asking us to look beyond the material world, to
consider what is important to God, and to realize what we are giving to God. Let us consider what in our lives belongs to
God. Instead of just saying ‘everything’,
consider being more specific. Jesus says
in the Great Commandment,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with
all your soul, and with all your mind.”
These descriptions encompass the totality of the
person. Have we given ourselves fully to
God? Where are our hearts? Is a longing for God and his glory found in
our hearts or are our hearts divided by our desires? We are body and soul - our bodies are given to
us by our parents, but our soul is given to us by God. Just like our body reflects aspects of our
parents, our soul reflects our creator and “signifies the spiritual principle
in man” (CCC 363). Does my soul draw me
closer to God or to the things of this world?
Finally, do we focus our minds on the wisdom of God or the distractions
of the world? Jesus takes a seemingly
impossible question and turns it into a source of profound reflection. Today we ponder our heart’s conversation with
Jesus, let us ask for forgiveness for all the times we may have acted with an
ulterior motive or not the most honest of intentions. In His love and mercy, may
our God continue to show us how utterly amazing He is.
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