0602 DUAL CITIZENSHIP (29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Cycle A. World Mission Sunday. Ref. Rdgs. 1st. From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 45:1, 4-6. 2nd. The Beginning of the First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians 1:1-5b. 3rd/Gospel. From the holy Gospel according to Matthew 22:15-21. Responsorial Psalm. Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10) On the question about whether to pay the taxes being exacted by the Romans or not, Jesus sidesteps the issue and asks whose picture was on the Roman coin. The picture is Caesar’s. Thence His conclusion, ‘’THEN REPAY TO CAESAR WHAT BELONGS TO CAESAR, AND TO GOD WHAT BELONGS TO GOD.’’ This very well makes sense, even now, it adds logic to the Christian’s duty both to God and to the state he lived in, effectively defining that of the Church and that of the state. The first reading illustrates to us the hand of the Lord in installing Kings (Cyrus), in this case, instrumental in bringing back the chosen people from exile and reconstructing the Temple in Jerusalem. This very much gives us the hint about the hand of God playing a great role in governments, installations, changes, influencing decisions and the like. Paul on his part states the role of the Holy Spirit as the gospel comes to the faithful in power. Now let us look at how we figure in our roles within the Church and as citizens of the state. Each of us has been given talents, capabilities, interests, capacities which we use to thrive in our individual roles, contributions to the progress of society at large. As such, in earning for our daily keep and beyond, as Christians, we take only what we need to live comfortably and the rest we give away or use to help the others, less fortunate ones, straggling to survive the tempests out there. Furthermore, in the same spirit of LOVE AND CONCERN AND CARE FOR OTHERS, we give percentages of our earnings, material income, to help support the state’s endeavours and projects, social services, poverty alleviation thrusts, food centrals for the have-not’s, soup kitchens and the like. Indeed, as Christians, this singular act of giving to the state, is part and parcel of our obligation to fulfil the command of God to LOVE OTHERS AS WE LOVE OURSELVES. Thus, cheating and stealing on monies coming from these noble contributions for the common good are indeed heinous and unforgivable deeds of darkness, depriving, mostly, the poor and the marginalized, which make these all the more loathsome and hateful. Each of us, Christians that we are, do have dual citizenships; one is that of the state which is on earth, the arena on which we are given enough chance, opportunity to prove ourselves worthy to be called children of God, heirs to His kingdom, realization of the Great Hope in eternity; the other is as citizens of heaven, a reward, an end product, an expectant offshoot of how we faired as citizens of the state, helpful, faithful, good abiding citizens, supportive of the government, the state in the spirit of LOVE. This afternoon’s cenacle has given us the message of the Blessed Mother, msg. 96, ‘’LOOK AT MY CRUCIFIED SON!’’. In the darkness that pervades the world today, persecutions, wars, civil strife, violence, prideful spurts, selfishness, godlessness, atheism, greed, scamper for superiority, dense darkness with seemingly no hints of seeing a dawn that may lead onto the light beyond, the Blessed Mother reminds all to look again at her CRUCIFIED SON, an epitome of obedience, humility, docility, unconditional love, a divine person, yet He has chosen to take on the persona of a ‘’slave’’, a human being subject to suffering and pain and even death, death on a cross meant for criminals; and this Jesus has died for all, even those not yet born, still far off, friends and foes alike. Then, hopefully, we all will be reminded that we too are expected to do the same...FOR OTHERS...IN LOVE... WE WILL BE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN IF WE WILL FAITHFULLY FULFIL OUR DUTIES AS CITIZENS OF THIS WORLD, COMMITTING TO LOVE AND SACRIFICE FOR OTHERS BECAUSE WE LOVE THE ALMIGHTY ONE, OUR FATHER WHO LOVES US MORE. Let us pray: OUR FATHER, WHO LEADS AND GUIDES US THROUGH OUR ROLES IN THIS WORLD OF SIN AND DARKNESS, SHINE YOUR LIGHT EVER BRIGHTER ALWAYS WHENEVER WE HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT GIVING WHAT IS DUE TO THE STATE. SEND PEOPLE WHO FEEL FOR OTHERS TOO, JUST AS YOUR SON DID FOR ALL UNCONDITIONALLY. GIVE US THE COURAGE TO STAND UP FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE POOR AND THE NEEDY, THE MARGINALIZED AS THEY STRIVE TO GAIN THAT WHICH BELONGS TO THEM, FROM THE COFFERS OF THE STATE MANDATED TO TAKE CARE OF THEM IN THE SPIRIT OF LOVE, ALL THROUGH JESUS, YOUR CRUCIFIED SON,WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO YOUR HIGHEST GLORY, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN. .mcnol.101914.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 04:27:23 +0000