Word to the Wise
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 - St. Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs
[2 Peter 3:12-15A, 17-18 and Mark 12:13-17]Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
Oh my! In this political campaign year, this particular gospel incident is like a fresh scent to a pack of hounds. Can't you just imagine a forest of cameras and microphones in front of Jesus? The Pharisees and Herodians are not far off from some of today's media who look for any discrepancy so that they can write a story or provide thirty seconds or less of sound byte for the evening news! I, for one, am already weary of it all. The real agenda of the Pharisees and Herodians is to "ensnare him in his speech." At least superficially, Jesus is asked to choose between his own people and the occupying Roman forces. The issue could be very politically sensitive. It could also be religiously sensitive. A similar effort is made in the Gospel of John where the woman caught in adultery is brought before him. In both cases, Jesus defuses the question on the superficial level and reveals the underlying hypocrisy of the questioners. To me this whole process reveals some of the profound rot that is behind a great deal of what passes for political dialogue in the current campaign. We never do get to the core of any issue because of the verbal games that must be played so that the media can shape a story the way they want. Perhaps this is one reason the print news media is slowly going out of existence. Most folks just aren't reading the paper anymore and are only getting news from "talking heads" or brief blurbs on the internet. The issue of Caesar v. God is an extremely important one. Catholic hospitals are being required to accept the secularistic outlook of the government in order to serve the sick, just to name one example. The martyrs whose feast we celebrate today may be said to have died because they would not compromise their faith for the sake of the murderous chieftain. The secular Caesar is gradually asking for more and more payment. Thus, the question will take on a separate life from the hypocritical motives of media or Pharisees! We'd better prepare ourselves to answer. AMEN
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