It was the year 1789 when Benjamin Franklin uttered those famous words: “… in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Little did he know that phrase would still be quoted to this very day.
And speaking of Death and Taxes, I recently discovered that’s also the name of a video game. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a gamer. The closest that I come to video gaming is buying these from my three sons. But I did find the description of this game really fascinating. It reads:
In this short narrative-based game, you take the role of the Grim Reaper… on an office job. Your job is to decide which people are going to live or die. Your choices will affect the world around you. The consequences of your choices are yours to bear, while the mystery of your incarnation awaits revelation! Here is a list of the features:
- Have a.. totally normal.. office job
- Talk to your boss
- Decorate your desk
- Do some paperwork
- Pet the cat??
- Stare in the mirror and talk to yourself
- Listen to that one really catchy tune in the elevator
- Make meaningful choices (only the fate of humankind is in your hands)
And that last statement has a direct connection with our readings today as these speak to us about allegiance, responsibility, and the importance of making meaningful choices in our lives.
In the first reading, Isaiah points out that there is an important distinction between earthly and divine power. The Lord empowers Cyrus for Israel’s sake. Even though Cyrus doesn’t recognize the Lord, God uses him to show there’s no other God besides Him. We need to understand that no other power, no matter how good, can fulfill what is God’s to fulfill. Therefore, we must give our whole and complete selves over to God.
In the second reading, St. Paul speaks of how we are called and chosen to do the work of Christ and how, as an expression of our faith, can participate in God’s work of love and justice in order to make this world become more holy.
Then in the gospel, Jesus says that famous line, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” And I want to spend a bit of time here because this is very relevant to us today.
So, here’s a question: is Jesus your primary concern, or is it something else? In today’s society, all of us have many things that run the risk of becoming idols or gods to us: money, power, sports, gaming, social media, binge-watching TV, shopping, our jobs; I can go on and on. But here’s the thing: when we hold onto these idols, it pulls us further and further away from God, who is the one and only reason for our existence.
The Pharisees and Herodians were trying to trap Jesus with a question about taxes to Caesar. Jesus sees right through them and responds saying to give Caesar his due while giving God what is God’s.
Let’s reframe this a bit. The Roman coin (denarius) was stamped with the image of Caesar. The human heart is stamped with the image of God. Afterall, we are made in the image and likeness of God. So we should return to Caesar what is Caesar’s (or in this case, pay the taxes); but then, we must give back to God what his image is on. And that is you and me.
Perhaps the question is then: shall we, can we, and do we give to God what is God’s? We all have to make decisions in this life. Do we serve God or Caesar, good or evil? As humans, we sometimes make bad choices and then we ask, “What must I do to live the life God has called me to live? How do I remove myself from the idols and gods that I encounter on a daily basis?” The first step is to give our time and gifts back to God. And then, we must use our rights and duties as citizens to help change unjust laws and systems. Let’s go a bit deeper.
Today, we are reminded that everything we possess comes from God. But we live in a culture that encourages us to be possessive of what we have. It’s all about our stuff. But Jesus is asking us to reevaluate and modify our perspective by not obsessing on attaining things, but to be more concerned about the things of God. We can only achieve this by focusing on our faith.
There has been a recent movement about how we need to declutter our lives by removing things around our homes that we don’t need in order to make it more pleasant and useful. Quite honestly, we need to be doing that same exact decluttering in our spiritual lives.
We need to be asking ourselves what are the possessions or distractions in our lives that are taking us away from turning our attention to God? Perhaps this means spending less time on social media or video games and spending more time in prayer. Maybe it’s spending less time focusing on negative thoughts and spending more time lifting the spirit of others. Maybe it’s spending less time on our bad habits and spending more time volunteering at church or a charity. Maybe it’s spending less time focusing on ourselves, and more time on the needs of others. Maybe giving our time, talents, and gifts back to God simply means becoming the person that God wants us to be by surrendering to God what belongs to God – and that’s us.
Making meaningful choices also means participating in the mission of the church. All of us are evangelizers and our primary duty is to spread the Good News through the witness of our lives, by loving God, and by taking care of those around us. Jesus tells us what is essential in life: it’s love, forgiveness, peace, and justice. Perhaps we need to take some time this week to reflect and discover what is truly and deeply essential to us.
Maybe it’s time for us to get involved with protecting our environment (and being good stewards to all that God gave us), or in the issues surrounding life – and I mean ALL life – being against capital punishment and war, and being for healthcare for the poor, the rights of immigrants and the imprisoned, just to name a few.
We cannot sit idly by in our culture. We must give ourselves totally to God by doing what is right and just for others. It’s all about living a genuine faith – a faith that is not passive or hidden, but active and dynamic! Our actions must affirm our beliefs. Because true faith actively engages with the world, demonstrated through our love for others and for Jesus Christ.
My sisters and brothers, something IS more certain than death and taxes – it’s living out our faith. It’s about giving back to God what belongs to God and making this world more holy by following God’s will and doing what is right. Jesus is asking us to make meaningful choices, choices that will affect the world around us. We may not be in a video game, but the fate of humankind may very well be in our hands.
Are we capable of changing? Find out.
