103 posts 7/2/2007 4:37 am
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7/3/2007 5:38 am
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Mark 12:13-17... Paying Taxes to the Emperor... Reflect
Mark 12:13-17...Paying Taxes to the Emperor... Reflect
In our gospel, we hear Jesus say; “Repay to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar and to God what belongs to God.” This saying of his, while proclaiming that politics has a certain autonomy in its own sphere, also implies that in some way politics remains subordinate to God’s rule. From the point of view of Jesus, his disciples must give their first loyalty to God on all issues (cf. the first commandment) and judge all issues from the vantage point of God’s will regarding humans and the world. In other words, the saying of Jesus sets definite moral bounds of politics.
Some people criticize the Church for “meddling” (as they say) in politics and social issues. They figure that the Church should limit herself to celebrating the sacraments and converting “sinners.” By “sinners,” of course, these critical Christian refer to people who commit only “private” sins (if there is such a thing!) like drunkenness, fornication, adultery, gambling, gluttony, etc. But they forget that there are also social sins, such as human exploitation, oppression of entire classes of society, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and so on. Against these sins and similar ones, the prophets of old spoke very clearly and emphatically. In this sense, all the prophets “meddled” in politics and social issues. They all strongly condemned the pious Jews of their day who frequented the Temple regularly while neglecting social justice (see, for example, Jer 7:1-7).
Jesus did exactly the same thing in his own preaching. In fact, he was ultimately killed by the leaders of his nation for wanting to inaugurate a totally new social order, one based on justice and compassion. And so, the church of today is only continuing this tradition.
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365 Days with the Lord
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7/2/2007 9:28 am
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What for Ceasar is for Ceasar...it means that though we are not in their will, we should obey of their rules and regulations to avoid fighting and to keep the fairness in both side. but we should not forget that we are belong to God's will that no matter what is happening we should stand firm for our faith in Almighty God
your blog is wonderful
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