Repayment in the Christian life is a repayment not of gold or silver, but faith and devotion to the Lord and the present cause of heaven. The cause of heaven on earth never changes as people and generations do. I think of my grandparents, great-grandparents, and even great-great grandparents, two of whom are resting silently one minute up the road in Rural Cemetery, and I think how they have all come and gone. But, during their lives of faith and devotion to God, their cause of heaven was no different than ours. Not even from the 1st century Thessalonians whom Paul writes to so graciously, nor anyone in the whacky world of the Middle Ages and after. The cause of heaven on earth is, of course, living the Gospel, living it to its fullness, and bringing it to the world. Some sectors of Christianity do this well, while others tend to be a bit more timid and silent when speaking is required. Giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. The word Caesar refers to the worldly powers we address. It does not mean giving our soul away, and selling it to the devil, even in the smallest way. Giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar would be more consistent with being a good, productive citizen to the best of our ability. One who brings peace to our communities, not causing little or large wars all over the place. I feel sad for any Christian who is so wrapped up in today’s political scene to the point where their entire life, or much of it, is given over to Caesar. Where God is given little or nothing. It’s a sad sight indeed, watching someone, anyone, live totally for this world when life with God, Mary and the Saints awaits us. A Catholic giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar is realized in virtues lived out. Faith working through love; works of mercy. Again, I think of the infamous St. John’s Soup Kitchen, an obvious choice. A Parish and dedicated group of volunteers from about 30 different zip codes feeding those who really are hungry. There’s no fake hunger in the hundreds who line up. Christ is in their faces. Whether they know it or not, we’re supposed to know that holy truth about them. We give Caesar what actually builds up Caesar in the sense of bringing God’s kingdom to our communities through the living out of our Catholic faith. Jesus no where says, “Give Caesar nothing.” Instead, by giving our all to Christ Jesus, we give some of that all to Caesar through loving works of mercy and good citizenship. We share Christ within the little world we inhabit. With that said, giving God what belongs to God gets a little muddy nowadays, and it has for quite some time, especially with us Catholic folk. Speaking from years of observation, many Catholics have a bad habit of either not seeing things as they are, or making excuses for unfaithful choices. For example, any Catholic Christian who lacks the fortitude to defend human life, God’s greatest gift before eternal life, and defend it properly from conception through the natural death God has written for us, that’s a Catholic who gives to Caesar what belongs to God. Any Catholic who supports and defends the total destruction of a child in the womb of its mother, and fails to see that’s what really happens, waters down their faith to the point of jeopardizing their own salvation. That person can receive Communion a million times over, but such reception never catches up to their giving to Caesar what belongs to God. And that’s the seriousness of this present day issue that many refuse to address. We want every day to be happy, and joyful, and the Patriots winning the Super Bowl every year. Funny how don’t get tired of that. But some of us get tired of addressing the most important moral issue of today. Catholics who get tired of defending human life, or fail to altogether, would have gotten tired of defending the horrors of slavery in 19th century America. Have the fortitude to defend God’s number one gift, human life. Always. Always. Light a firecracker in our souls if we have to. It must be defended against the forces of evil. I’ve said it in the past, and it’s worth repeating; From conception, God owns us. From the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 10; The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the Lord, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. We belong to the Lord. He’s the Master; we’re his humble servants, imitating the servanthood of Jesus himself. Our lives are certainly not owned by any political party, especially one that speaks and acts like they’re in charge of life, replacing God’s ownership, deciding who lives and who dies. Or even a lead candidate who labels himself a “good Catholic” from one side of his mouth, and then says from the other side, “You can snuff out that child. At any point. Even after birth” That’s a Catholic who does not speak for the Catholic Church. That’s a Catholic who misrepresents the Catholic faith in the most serious way. I fear his salvation as he closes in on his own death. It is a fearful thing to stand before the living God, especially if we did not defend his most innocent creation. Catholics respect and defend all human life. That is our fundamental teaching, and not the personal choice of some guy running for office. Another muddy area for Catholics that follows the preeminent issue of life, an issue where we give to Caesar what belongs to God, is immigration and immigrants. It seems from my observation that many Catholics have a difficult time seeing the face of Christ in them. Seeing immigrants, real human beings, in the context only of legal citizenship, boundaries, territories, and walls, prevents us from having a vision that sees the face of Christ in that person. Seeing immigration in that manner places a non-Christian blindfold over our eyes. That, my friends, is a grave sin in which many Catholics knowingly or unknowingly are complicit. At the heart of our faith is the divinely revealed teaching to love and support – by word and deed – the lowly, the despised, the poor, the hungry, the refugee, the immigrant. God himself defended the widow and orphan. Check the Old Testament. It’s all over the text. Give to God what belongs to God, and love and support the immigrant, understanding that boundaries and territories are very important, but they are not the last say when living out our Catholic faith on this very human issue. God is all powerful and eternal. Caesar is passing. Standing before God, Caesar is a wimp. But God uses Caesar to bring love, empathy, and a boatload of relief to our brothers and sisters. From the unborn (the highest moral issue of our day), the sick & dying elderly, the hungry on Temple Street, to the immigrant who is today’s widow and orphan. We may despise them, but God will defend them. Do we wish to fight against God? We know who eventually wins. We give to God what belongs to God when we live, not just some parts of our Catholic faith, but the fullness of it. That’s the repayment God expects and nothing short of it.