The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today nudge us to contemplate our mortality even as we find grace and meaning in the eternal Presence of God.
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The reading from the Second Letter of Peter is an exhortation to preparedness.
* [3:17–18] To avoid the dangers of error and loss of stability Christians are forewarned to be on guard and to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Pt 1:2) of Christ. The doxology (2 Pt 3:18) recalls 1 Pt 4:11. Some manuscripts add Amen.1
Psalm 90 contrasts God’s Eternity and human frailty.
* [Psalm 90] A communal lament that describes only in general terms the cause of the community’s distress. After confidently invoking God (Ps 90:1), the Psalm turns to a complaint contrasting God’s eternity with the brevity of human life (Ps 90:2–6) and sees in human suffering the punishment for sin (Ps 90:7–12). The Psalm concludes with a plea for God’s intervention (Ps 90:13–17).2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus addresses the question about paying taxes.
* [12:13–34] In the ensuing conflicts (cf. also Mk 2:1–3:6) Jesus vanquishes his adversaries by his responses to their questions and reduces them to silence (Mk 12:34).3
Kyle Lierk comments “As I read today’s Gospel and consider this theological lens, I can’t help but wonder, “What can I look to in my life, like Jesus asked the leaders to do with that coin, and see the ‘image and inscription’ of God?” And then, once I have taken this inventory, face the harder question: “Am I repaying ‘to God what belongs to God’?””
As my wife and I lean into the grand “Yes!” of our vocation to marriage with the multiple, smaller, daily “yeses,” we are embracing the stance that Fr. Anthony deMello, S.J. recommends we take with God: “Behold the One beholding you, smiling.” As our dog pursues us with unapologetic love, affection and acceptance, I witness Thompson’s depiction of the Divine as a “hound of heaven.” As I watch the four locust trees planted by the original owner of this home standing like sturdy sentinels through multiple human lifespans, the cardinals and bluejays flit and flurry in feathery exuberance, and the seasons break through on the heels of one another in some sacred square dance, I am humbled by God’s creative composition. And as I gaze with gentle eyes at the ways in which I live out this human adventure (some days better than others), I see the Divine author continuing to pen the story of my life.
After all of this embracing, witnessing, watching and gazing, it is then time to do what Jesus asks: repay to God what is God’s! But how? I have found that the greatest way to provide God the “return on investment” for this abundance of gift is through the ways in which I choose to share and engage these wonderful treasures for “the greater glory of God” and in an effort to bring reconciliation to our world.4
Don Schwager quotes “Put off the earthly image and put on the heavenly one,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"Some people think that the Savior spoke on a single level when he said, 'Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar' - that is, 'pay the tax that you owe.' Who among us disagrees about paying taxes to Caesar? The passage therefore has a mystical and secret meaning. There are two images in humanity. One he received from God when he was made, in the beginning, as Scripture says in the book of Genesis, 'according to the image and likeness of God' (Genesis 1:27). The other image is of the earth (1 Corinthians 15:49). Man received this second image later. He was expelled from Paradise because of disobedience and sin after the 'prince of this world' (John 12:31) had tempted him with his enticements. Just as the coin, or denarius, has an image of the emperor of this world, so he who does the works of 'the ruler of the darkness' (Ephesians 6:12) bears the image of him whose works he does. Jesus commanded that that image should be handed over and thrown away from our face. He wills us to take on that image, according to which we were made from the beginning, according to God's likeness. It then happens that we give 'to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what is God's.' Jesus said, 'Show me a coin.' For 'coin,' Matthew wrote 'denarius' ( Matthew 22:19). When Jesus had taken it, he said, 'Whose inscription does it have?' They answered and said, 'Caesar's.' And he said to them in turn, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.'" (excerpt from HOMILY ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 39.4-6)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Peter 3:12-15, 17-18 urges, “on a spiritual level, consider evaluating your “spiritual diet” every now and then. Think about the media you consume or the leisure activities that you participate in. Do they lead to peace, or do they leave you agitated or anxious? Do they help you become the person God created you to be, or do they take you down hurtful or self-centered paths? It can be hard to change our viewing habits or our leisure activities, of course, but anyone who has tried and succeeded will tell you that it is well worth the effort.”
One word of caution: as you make it your goal to “be eager” to avoid marring your soul, don’t let the past weigh you down and don’t let the future discourage you. That’s not the point! Instead, “consider the patience of our Lord” (2 Peter 3:15). Remember that he didn’t come to condemn you for your blemishes, but to save you from them and wash you clean. Through his Spirit, his divine grace is always available to help protect you and set you free.
“Jesus, teach me how to rely on you as I try to steer clear of anything that could mar my soul or damage my spirit.”6
Friar Jude Winkler shares the sense of the author of 2 Peter that a merciful God has given first century Christians time to convert. The people trying to trap Jesus were carrying a Roman coin. Friar Jude reminds us that Christians have supported the Roman Emperor and also condemned civil authority as Satan on earth.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that an important element of this new power (among the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized) is that it is not power for the sake of personal gain, but power for the sake of all the oppressed, ignored, forgotten, and exploited members of society. The powerless are recouping power . . . the power of the gospel, which works for the betterment and liberation of all, especially those in greatest need.
In all this, prophecy is not just being spoken about; it is being lived out in ongoing confrontations by the previously powerless of society who now dare to go to the Jerusalems of today’s society: city hall, transnational corporations, boards of education, ecclesiastical offices. Those who had before simply accepted their state of exclusion and exploitation are now coming out of their tombs of substandard housing, disease-infected neighborhoods, economically enslaving jobs, schools that strengthened illiteracy, and churches that perpetuated segregation. Those who had been dead are now coming back to life.
In this awakening . . . renewed Christians are called to exercise a prophetic role. True prophecy is based upon a prophetic lifestyle, which of itself—wordlessly—confronts an ungodly society. It is this new lifestyle—this new way of relating with persons, goods, institutions, and God—that is itself an arresting alternative to the ways of the world.7
We are creatures in the image of God who make visible by our selfless action the power of the Gospel to transform communities.
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