Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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At the time of Christ, the night was divided into three different parts – the first, second, and third watch.
Once the sun fell, soldiers would literally pace back and forth along the perch of the city walls looking for thieves or invading armies.
The third watch was always the hardest post, because it lasted from roughly 2 – 6 am, the darkest part of the night.
Anyone who’s ever had to stay awake that long knows how hard it is. As the night drags on, you must become more and more focused; otherwise, you’ll succumb to sleep.
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This is the type of vigilance the Lord asks of us spiritually in today’s Gospel. Live as if Jesus is coming by the end of the night.
Statistically speaking, that’s highly unlikely. It’s already been almost 750,000 days since the Lord first spoke of his return!
Still, he wants us to, “Be alert! Stay awake!” Act as if judgment is coming.
So, what might it look like to prepare for the Lord’s coming, either at the end of the day or at the end of time?
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Personally, I’d want to resolve any conflict; forgive wrongdoings; offer an apology wherever needed; and go to confession.
I’d tell my family and friends that I love them; thank those who’ve been good to me; hug a friend; and say a prayer.
“Blessed are those servants,” Jesus says, who do these things.
Even if the Lord is delayed, as seems to be the case, seeking reconciliation, extending forgiveness, praying, and being grateful for those whom we love, is the healthiest way to live our lives.
Come, Lord Jesus.
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Image credits: (1) Christianity.com (2) Pinterest (3) Strengthened by Grace
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The Romans had a popular saying: “Money is like saltwater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.”
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We see this thirst for money unfolding in today’s Gospel as two brothers are arguing over a family inheritance.
The fact that there ismoney to inherit implies they already have enough. If their family were poor, then there’d be nothing to argue about!
But what these boys want is more. That thirst inspires Jesus to tell them a parable about a rich man who thought he had everything, but died that night with nothing.
The heart of the matter is not how much money we possess; rather, how much money possesses us.
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The opposite of greed is being content.
Contentment has been defined as, “a state of happiness and satisfaction.” It’s something most human beings can feel – unless, of course, they’re living in a state of danger.
Anyone, even the poor, can learn to be content with what they have. Ironically enough, it’s often the poor who often seem more content than the wealthy because they must learn how to be satisfied with less; more is not always an option.
“Money is like saltwater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.”
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Am I content with what I have? Do I find myself wanting more – more money, more power, more attention, more of anything?
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Saint Paul reminds us in his Letter to Timothy:
“Faith with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we should be content with that.”
Perhaps anything more could leave us feeling thirsty.
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Image credits: (1) Reddit (2) Greenville Business Magazine (3) ChildLight Education Company
The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Imagine how surprised, even divided, this community might become if I started preaching about Donald Trump, Joe Biden, ICE, immigration, Iran, guns, taxes, data centers, mail-in ballots, or any other political hot potato.
It’s not my role as a preacher. Nor is it why we gather here on Sunday. We come to build community, to worship God, and to make disciples.
When the backbone of a sermon is political in nature, it becomes an immediate lightning rod, fanning tension within a congregation, and losing its intended effect.
I have no interest being in the hot seat.
And neither did Jesus.
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Jesus did not enter this world in order to divide and conquer until he bore an earthly crown, whose leaves would fade like the evening sun.
He came in peace, to reveal the face, the voice, and indeed the very heart of God. A heart that beats with unimaginable love, compassion, and mercy for all of his creation.
The Lord’s mission was meant to transcend politics, yet his life was still subjected to it.
This was not only true at his birth – when Herod feared the arrival of a newborn king – but also throughout his ministry, and even to his death as he was crowned with thorns in mockery.
We see this tension unfolding in today’s Gospel.
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The Pharisees and Herodians – two groups usually opposed to each other – unite under a single purpose: to throw Jesus into the hot seat, trapping him in his speech.
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth,” they say. “So, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
This question was as partisan as picking a political party is today.
If Jesus opposed paying the census tax, then they would turn him in to the Roman authorities for being a revolutionary or an insurrectionist, and the Romans would have him crucified.
But if Jesus supported paying the census tax, then he would be seen as no real supporter of the Jewish cause; taxes directly supported Caesar, who occupied Jewish land.
It’s a catch-22.
But no one could ever trap Jesus. Outsmarting his opponents, he asked them for a coin, which not only bore the image of Caesar, but it also proclaimed Caesar to be divine.
No pious Jew could carry such a coin because it broke the first and second commandments – to have no God but God alone, and not to bear false images. Yet where else do the Pharisees draw this coin from? Their very own pockets!
This not only revealed they paid their taxes; they also routinely broke the Commandments. Making matters worse, this unfolds on Temple grounds, God’s house.
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“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” Jesus says, “and to God what belongs to God.”
We’ve all heard those words before. Many interpret them as an affirmation separating the Church from the state. But Jesus is not just giving us permission; he is also challenging us to give to each what belongs to each.
So, what does it mean to give to Caesar?
In America, this means paying our taxes and voting. Yet how many people cheat, search for tax breaks, loopholes, or evade paying their taxes at all? How many others choose not to vote?
“Give to Caesar,” Jesus says. Pay your taxes. Vote.
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Of course, the more challenging part is to give to God what belongs to God.
In the book of Genesis, we’re told that humanity was made in the image and likeness of God. And if we bear God’s image – just like a metal coin bore Caesar’s – then we must give God our very selves.
Yet, like paying taxes, how many struggle to do so? We can all suffer from the temptation to hoard what we believe to be our own – not only our money, but also our time and talent.
Indeed, our very lives.
Yet when God created the universe and everything in it, he wrote a law into all of creation; everything and everyone is ordered to give itself away.
For example, the sun does not shine on itself; its rays warm and brighten the earth. Rivers do not drink their own water. Trees do not eat their own fruit; they offer it for the nourishment of others.
When we do the opposite, when we hoard what we have – or worse, who we are – then we become less than the stars in the sky.
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May God give us the grace to live like the sun and the stars, giving whatever we may have away – passing things to Caesar, but our very lives to God.
