STAMPED WITH GOD'S IMAGE
It's God who brings us new life, a new dawn, a new breath,
a new strength behind each step and a new hope behind each thought.
In this Sunday's
Gospel, Jesus challenges us to be as dutiful to God as we are to the laws of
the land. How does turning whole heartedly to God our Father resolve many
questions and problems we have in life? We are to "give to God what
belongs to God" (Mt 22:21). If Jesus answered that it was lawful to pay
taxes to a pagan ruler He would lose credibility with the Jewish nation, which
would regard Him as a coward and a friend of Caesar. If Jesus 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.
By the power from on
High, 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. They considered the money
to be their personal property. Jesus didn't waste time and went right to the
point. He explained that "what belongs to Caesar must be given to
Caesar."
This story has a much
deeper meaning for us. We, too, have been stamped! We are stamped with God's
Image since we were created in His own likeness. In Genesis we read "God
created man in His own Image...male and female He created them." You and I
rightfully belong not to ourselves, but to our heavenly Father who created us
and redeemed us in the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.
Today's Responsorial
Psalm gives us the answer to our question: "All the earth will worship the
Lord who "rules the nations with equity" (Ps 96:10). It's God who
brings us new life, a new dawn, a new breath, a new strength behind each step
and a new hope behind each thought. Saint
Paul's words bring it all together so well: "And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love" (1 Cor 13:13).
We are "Stamped
with God's Image!"