HOMILY OF TUESDAY 9TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY OF TUESDAY 9TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: WE ARE GOD’S IMAGES
BY: Fr Isaac Awe
2 Peter 3:11-15,17-18; Psalm 89(90):2-4, 10, 14, 16; Mark 12:13-17
“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what kind of people ought you to be? In behaviour and in piety, be holy”. (2 Peter 3:11). Hence, today’s first reading is parallel to Matthew 5:48: “ Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy”.
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What do we owe God and what’s our obligation towards others? Paul the Apostle tells us that we must give each what is their due (Romans 13:6-8). The Jewish authorities sought to trap Jesus in a religious-state dispute over the issue of taxes. The Jews resented their foreign rulers and despised paying taxes to Cesar. They posed a dilemma to test Jesus to see if he would make a statement they could use against him. If Jesus answered that it was lawful to pay taxes to a pagan ruler, then he would lose credibility with the Jewish populace who would regard him as a coward and a friend of Cesar.
However, if he said it was not lawful, then the Pharisees would have grounds to report him to the Roman authorities as a political trouble-maker and have him arrested. Jesus avoided their trap by confronting them with the image of a coin. Coinage in the ancient world had significant political power. Rulers issued coins with their own image and inscription on them. In a certain sense the coin was regarded as his personal property. Where the coin was valid the ruler held political sway over the people. Since the Jews used the Roman currency, Jesus explained that what belonged to Caesar must be given to Caesar.
This story has a deeper meaning . We, too, have been stamped with God’s image since we are created in his own likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). We rightfully belong, not to ourselves, but to God who created us and redeemed us in the precious blood of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Paul the Apostle says that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). Do we acknowledge that our lives belongs to God and not to ourselves? And do we give to God what rightfully belongs to Him?
PRAYER: Lord, because you have made us, we owe you the whole of our love; because you have redeemed us, we owe you the whole of ourselves; because you have promised so much, we owe you all our beings. Grant us the grace to be fully yours in thoughts, words and deeds. Amen
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