Jesus, “The Opinion of Truth”

We have become a society full of “opinions,” have we not?

Cut on the news there is an “opinion.” 

Have a discussion about Holy Scripture, and you will hear more “opinions” then there is grass in a pasture.

I do not care where we go anymore, what we “turn on,” what we read, someone is going to have an opinion about something or someone.

I am not saying when one needs guidance not to ask for it.  If I am stumped I am going to ask for help. 

To continuously feed on the “opinions” of others for everything in the world today, can only lead us to confusion.  The mind of man at best is so undisciplined.

We see into today’s Gospel readings, the Pharisees were trying to entrap Jesus by His “opinion” on “paying census taxes to Caesar.”  Should they or should they not?

Of course our Lord knew they were trying to entrap Him and His reply was:

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

Jesus knew one of the reasons for this taxation was because of Israel’s disobedience to God.  Because of it, they were now under the rule of Rome. 

Due to this, the opinion of Jesus was more or less, “You have no choice./Pay it or else./The answer is obvious!”

 Jesus still did not leave out what was due to God.

I believe He did so, because if they had of been giving to God what they were supposed to, they would not have been in this shape to begin with?

In the subtle way of Jesus, He let them know this, and they knew it was true.  Therefore; turning the whole thing right back on them.

So what is God due?

St. Paul says it best in today’s second reading, in his letter to the Thessalonians.

“We give thanks to God always for all of you,/remembering you in our prayers,/unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love/and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God wants from us a “work of faith,”  “labor of love,” and “endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Something struck me as I read this.

All of it is going to take love, work, and endurance, on our part.

We are actually going to have to get out here and get it “in gear,”  to give to God what He is due.

He is not going to do it for us.

So how do we do this?

Quit listening to everybody else’s opinions.

Get the balance in our lives, of what we must do to live, and what we must do for God.

The answer is “obvious.”

If we are relying on everyone else’s thoughts as to “what we are to do,” we will fail.

It may take a lot of prayers and patience to get it all in place. 

Faith, love and endurance are so important to God.  Yet, at times they seem so hard to accomplish.

This is because, we get our priorities all out of whack.

It is always the “world is this,”  “the world is that.”

So we need to ask ourselves, “What is our world?”

Disobedience to God, therefore living under Roman rule?

or

Obedience to God, living a life of “unbarred gates?

 

Prayer:

Oh Jesus,  to find two people who agree on anything in this day and age, is almost impossible.  Yet I have placed so much stock in their views on so many things.

When I do Lord, I am leaving out the opinion I need to adhere to the most, and that is Yours.  The “opinion of truth.”

How at moments and times in my life, that is the one which matters least to me.  For that I tell You, “I am sorry.”

Help me Jesus, to carry out in life, only that which You set forth inside of me to do. 

Letting go of what others think and say.

In this way, may I give to God, what He is due?

  Amen. +

God Bless, SR

“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp,/subduing nations before him,/ and making kings run in his service,/opening doors before him/and leaving gates unbarred.”

Image: 

“Woe to you Pharisees” by James Tissot

Scriptures from Today’s Mass Readings