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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
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The Pharisees know how much the Jews hated paying taxes. They wanted their own land and their own government; they wanted to rule themselves.
If Jesus tells the Jews it’s lawful to pay their taxes, then he’ll appear to be a friend of Rome, and in opposition to their cause.
But if he tells the Jews not to pay their taxes, then he can be arrested as an enemy of the State.
It’s a catch-22.
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“Bring me a denarius to look at,”Jesus says.
Where else will the Pharisees draw a coin from but their very own pockets?
As much as they hate to admit it, they, too, paid their taxes. “So, repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” Jesus says, “but to God what belongs to God.”
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What belongs to God?
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We do.
In one of the very first verses in the bible, God says, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.”
Meaning, Caesar can have our coin.
But God is deserving of our lives.
How do I give God my life? What would it look like to hand over a little more of myself today?
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“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.”
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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This is the only encounter in the Gospels between two women… and they’re both pregnant.
Strangely, both pregnancies happen under nearly impossible circumstances – Mary, a virgin, and Elizabeth, a barren, elderly woman.
Few, if any, in the outside world would believe what’s happened. But, as we often see in scripture, God works in mysterious ways.
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Perhaps the most pertinent detail to our lives today is the action of Elizabeth.
Despite her frail, old age – and her own pregnancy – she welcomes Mary into her home for the next three months, offering an open ear, a tender heart, and what little resources she has.
That’s no small sacrifice.
But it’s the essence of love – putting the needs of another before our own.
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Today we not only celebrate the Feast of the Visitation; we also celebrate Memorial Day, a holiday that recalls the loving sacrifice others have made on our behalf, much like Elizabeth who sacrificed for Mary.
Traditionally, we honor our American soldiers.
But this year we also remember the bravery shown by our frontline medical workers, sanitation workers, teachers, and all those who’ve put our needs and safety before their own.
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In what ways can we follow their example? How can we embrace a spirit of service?
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As we were reminded by Saint Paul in our first reading, “Love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Serve the Lord…and contribute to the needs of others.”
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Image credits: (1) The Seattle Times (2) Society of the Holy Child Jesus (3) BeAnInspirer.com
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Let’s go to hell.
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No, not that place of fire and brimstone you’re probably thinking of… But Dante’s hell.
Perhaps you’ve read the Inferno, the first book in his famous trilogy, The Divine Comedy.
The Divine Comedy is the story of Dante’s journey to God. He begins in hell, but eventually makes his way through purgatory into heaven.
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In hell, Dante passes through nine different circles, each representing a different sin. After descending to that final level of darkness, Dante discovers that ancient beast, Satan.
Surprisingly, Satan isn’t breathing fire as many of us might have imagined.
He’s frozen, trapped waist-deep in ice. Above his waist, Satan’s furry bat-like wings flap restlessly about as he torments himself eternally.
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It’s a scary image; but that’s where Satan chooses to be – stuck in the darkness, frozen in ice, completely separated from the outside world.
For Dante, that’s the essence of hell: being isolated.
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Alone.
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How we wish that loneliness was something only the devil felt.
But how many have felt abandoned, isolated, totally alone during this pandemic? Being cut off from the outside world can feel like hell.
Or being denied the Sacraments, cut off from the community of faith, or feeling like the Church disappeared, can feel like hell.
Or think about how hardened our heart becomes when we’re carrying anger, resentment, or a grudge. Being unwilling – or unable – to forgive severs relationships.
That’s hell, too.
Hell is feeling tiny in the face of power; it’s the fear of injustice; it’s the fear of being unwanted or being ignored.
It’s any form of isolation.
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The opposite of being alone is being loved.
That’s heaven.
As Dante writes, heaven is a place of communion. The higher he climbs, the brighter it becomes until, finally, he beholds the face of God.
Unlike Satan, God isn’t alone. He isn’t flapping furry bat-like wings in a darkened cave of ice.
God lives in harmony as Father, Son, and Spirit.
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Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday – our belief that in God there are three distinct Divine Persons.
I think of the Trinity like a family. The Father, the Son and the Spirit love one another so much they are inseparable; they are One. They form the perfect relationship.
You and I were made in this image and likeness.
If hell is the distance we feel after a family argument, then heaven is the peace we feel when living in harmony.
The same idea applies to society at large. Hell is the scourge of war; heaven is the bond of unity.
The more we co-exist in peace, the more we reflect the inner life of the God, who is three distinct Persons without division.
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As Dante writes at the end of The Divine Comedy, God is, “the love that moves the sun and the other stars.”
It’s what holds everything and everyone together.
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This is the secret to human happiness: living like our God; living in relationship; living in peace with others.
On this Trinity Sunday, perhaps we should consider: Am I living in harmony with others?
Or are there broken bonds that need to be healed?
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The closer we are to one another, the closer we answer that final prayer of Jesus while he was on this earth, “That they may be one, Father, as you and I are one.”
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Image credits: (1) The Boston Globe (2) Road to Heaven Road to Hell, Thomas Hawk (3) Dante’s Lucifer (4) Bela Čikoš Sesija, Illustration from Dante (5) Dante’s Heaven
