WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:05.519 One of the most famous lines Jesus ever spoke appears in today's gospel. 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:10.320 Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.759 Most people think this gospel is about taxes. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:14.800 It's not. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:18.239 The tax question is simply the trap. 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:22.320 The Pharisees and the Herodians are trying to corner Jesus. 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:26.800 If he says, don't pay the tax, the Romans can arrest him. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:31.120 If he says, pay the tax, many Jews will turn against him. 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:33.920 It's a brilliant political trap. 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:37.359 But Jesus refuses to play their game. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:42.399 He asks for a coin and says, Well, whose image is on this? 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:44.640 Caesar's, they say. 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:52.479 Well, then comes the famous response, well, then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:55.759 But here's the question nobody asks. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:57.920 Well, what belongs to God? 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:02.399 The coin bears Caesar's image, so it belongs to Caesar. 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.000 But whose image is stamped on you? 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:12.560 The book of Genesis tells us that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.640 The coin belongs to Caesar because it bears his image. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:20.239 You belong to God because you bear his. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.280 That's the real point of the gospel. 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:27.760 Jesus is not primarily teaching a lesson about taxation. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.159 He's teaching a lesson about identity. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:33.920 Everything we have comes from God. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:40.079 Our life, our soul, our gifts, our time, our talent, our future. 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:45.359 The deepest question is not whether we are giving Caesar what belongs to Caesar. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.760 The deeper question is whether we are giving God what already belongs to him. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:54.159 And this becomes even more important when we hear the first reading. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:54.719 St. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:59.519 Peter speaks about the coming of the Lord and the passing away of this world. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:02.640 He reminds us that everything we see is temporary. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:10.960 The buildings, the careers, the achievements, the political movements, the stock markets, the headlines, all of it will pass away. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:12.400 What remains? 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:13.520 Only God. 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:17.280 And because of that, Peter says something remarkable. 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:23.520 Grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:26.879 Notice he doesn't simply say grow in grace. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.240 He also says grow in knowledge. 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:37.280 And that's an important apologetics because many Catholics have a good heart, but they do not know their faith. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:45.840 They know what they feel, they know what their grandmother taught them, they know a few prayers, but they cannot explain why they believe. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:48.479 And in today's world, that can be dangerous. 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:49.120 Why? 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:51.280 Because the cultural is asking questions. 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:52.560 Why believe in God? 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:54.240 Why trust the church? 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:56.240 Why believe in the Eucharist? 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.240 Why believe in moral truth? 00:02:58.479 --> 00:02:59.919 Why believe in Christ? 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:04.719 And did he really was he risen from the dead? 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:10.479 If we can't answer those questions, our faith becomes vulnerable. 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.319 The church has never asked us to check our brains at the door. 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:15.680 Quite the opposite. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:21.280 The greatest minds of all of human history have been Christians. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:25.120 Augustine, Aquinas, Newman, Edistein. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:31.439 The faith is not afraid to question, because truth is never afraid of investigation. 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:34.240 Saint Peter understood this. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.120 That's why he says grow in knowledge. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:45.360 A mature Catholic should know, should not only know what he believes, but he why he believes it. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:48.479 And there's a practical lesson for all of us. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:52.319 Because every day someone is trying to claim your allegiance. 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:54.319 Politics wants your allegiance. 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:56.800 The culture we live in wants your allegiance. 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:59.599 Social media definitely wants your allegiance. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:01.919 The marketplace wants your allegiance. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:04.879 Everyone is competing for your heart. 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:09.759 But there's only one person whose image you bear, Jesus Christ. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:15.360 That's why the saints could remain peaceful even when kingdoms rose and fell around them. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:24.879 They paid their taxes, they fulfilled their civic duties, they were good citizens, but they never forgot where the ultimate citizenship was. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:28.160 Their deepest loyalty belongs to God. 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:32.079 And perhaps that's the examination of conscience for us today. 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:36.720 If someone looked at my life, whose image would they see reflected there? 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:39.120 Would they see the image of Christ? 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.439 Would they see a man or a woman growing in grace and in knowledge? 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:49.040 Would they see someone whose priorities reveal that God comes first? 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:57.199 Because one day every coin, every possession, every accomplishment will remain behind. 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:01.759 But the soul that bears the image of God will live forever. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:07.360 And on that day, the Lord will not ask how much we accumulated. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:15.920 The Lord will ask whether we gave him what always belonged to him in the first place, our hearts. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:16.879 Amen.