Today, the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear how we must “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” So, what exactly, belongs to God? Why, everything, of course! Today's Gospel encourages us to take a look at everything we do and everything we are and to put our lives and efforts in proper perspective. It is not enough to tithe our income without tithing our time; indeed, it is not enough to tithe at all. Our entire fortune, our entire effort, our entire life belong to God. We enter this life on earth with nothing and we leave here with nothing (you can’t take it with you…). Our lives are about our stewardship of what we are given—our time, talent and treasure. We at St. Aidan are so overwhelmingly blessed!
There has been so much in the news about natural disasters—whether the weather or man-made. I overheard someone remark recently about this being God’s wrath visited on the victims of tragic circumstance and was astounded that this could come from the mouth of any Christian. This attitude reveals a dark side to the theology of some people and paints a sinister look on the face of our Christian religion—and on the face of God. Personally, to me, that picture is hideous—and not a true picture of our Lord and Savior.
The suffering experienced in our world is indiscriminate; there is no political agenda by God. By our Baptism, we must respond the same way, with no political agenda—but with indiscriminate compassion. Adding a layer of guilt (God’s wrath) to what victims of these tragedies have already experienced is to add (spiritual) insult to injury! Christians do well to unite with all people of goodwill to show mercy instead of turning disastrous events into personal political commentary.
When I leave church in my car, I drive to my nice home and think how I am overwhelmingly blessed. I pass shops and stores filled with merchandise, streets are adequately lighted, and I think how I am overwhelmingly blessed. I enter my nice, warm, clean home and open my refrigerator filled with food being kept cool and think how I am overwhelmingly blessed. We know that to everyone “who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” I wonder if God is speaking to me, and I conclude that He is—because I am overwhelmingly blessed.
Our work here and now determines our eternal future. This is the challenge of our faith and our stewardship of our gifts. All we have comes from God, all good gifts come from above, and they are not ours to keep—they are for sharing. Isaiah tells us today that God says: “I have called you by your name…” Like last week’s parable about God’s invitation to the feast, we have to ask ourselves how we respond. We are all so overwhelmingly blessed here at St. Aidan, in our Communities, and in our country. The question is, what are you going to do about it?
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
There has been so much in the news about natural disasters—whether the weather or man-made. I overheard someone remark recently about this being God’s wrath visited on the victims of tragic circumstance and was astounded that this could come from the mouth of any Christian. This attitude reveals a dark side to the theology of some people and paints a sinister look on the face of our Christian religion—and on the face of God. Personally, to me, that picture is hideous—and not a true picture of our Lord and Savior.
The suffering experienced in our world is indiscriminate; there is no political agenda by God. By our Baptism, we must respond the same way, with no political agenda—but with indiscriminate compassion. Adding a layer of guilt (God’s wrath) to what victims of these tragedies have already experienced is to add (spiritual) insult to injury! Christians do well to unite with all people of goodwill to show mercy instead of turning disastrous events into personal political commentary.
When I leave church in my car, I drive to my nice home and think how I am overwhelmingly blessed. I pass shops and stores filled with merchandise, streets are adequately lighted, and I think how I am overwhelmingly blessed. I enter my nice, warm, clean home and open my refrigerator filled with food being kept cool and think how I am overwhelmingly blessed. We know that to everyone “who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” I wonder if God is speaking to me, and I conclude that He is—because I am overwhelmingly blessed.
Our work here and now determines our eternal future. This is the challenge of our faith and our stewardship of our gifts. All we have comes from God, all good gifts come from above, and they are not ours to keep—they are for sharing. Isaiah tells us today that God says: “I have called you by your name…” Like last week’s parable about God’s invitation to the feast, we have to ask ourselves how we respond. We are all so overwhelmingly blessed here at St. Aidan, in our Communities, and in our country. The question is, what are you going to do about it?
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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