Tuesday 9th week in ordinary time
"Mk 12:13-17"
And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to entrap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, "Teacher...is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"...But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it." And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are Gods." And they were amazed at him.
Clever trap, isn't it? If Jesus said 'Yes, pay Caesar,' the Jewish people would consider Him a traitor. If He said 'No, you don't have to,' He would be arrested for disobedience to the Roman authorities. But the answer was cleverer: another blunder for the 'Pharisees Epic Fail Compilation.'
Some people think that Jesus was dividing the world in two: one part for God and another for normal life. There is a silly story of a man who was hiking in the mountains when he came across a shepherd surrounded by hundreds of sheep. He asked him, "Are all these sheep yours?" The shepherd said impassively, "The black ones are." "And what about the other ones?" asked the man again. "Those are mine also," answered the stony shepherd.
They asked Jesus 'God or Caesar?' He says 'God and Caesar'. I am one individual and the virtues can't be practiced in parts. When Jesus speaks about love He says: 'Love God and love others'. If you don't love God, you can't love men; and vice versa. If you love, you love everyone. The same with justice: 'Give God His due, and give others their due'. If you are just, you are just with everyone (including God). We can't be good Christians if we are not good citizens.
That is called 'unity of life': you expect that a good husband would be a good father, a good father would be a good son, a good son would be a good brother, a good judge would be a good neighbour and a good Christian would always be a good citizen. Mary, my Mother, help me to grow in unity of life, to practice my virtues, to be one and the same all the time.
