Fr. Kevin's Cluttered Desk
October 18, 2020
“Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” This simple response to the question of having to pay taxes is a profound declaration of the Spiritual and the Earthly. For the good all of society we pay taxes. In some ways it is supposed to be a balancing act between those with more and those with less. It is also a balancing act of how to treat people the same. From the Spiritual realm this never comes into question, we are all God’s children and precious in God’s eyes. None of us is better or worse than the other, we are all loved equally. In the case of the earthy realm, money is the item of measure, but in the Spiritual realm we can never be sure what the measure is for God. It does begin and end with love God above all things and love your neighbour as yourself, but this is where God sees the heart of each of us and knows the depths of our love and our ability to love.
I remember talking with a married couple many years ago who wanted to know how I gave up everything, my career, money, friends, marriage, everything to become a priest. I pointed out to them, I have a career – I am a pastor, I have friends, I have money for my needs, they just look different than when I worked in the business world. And I even have a family, one that God gave me to watch over and care for, to shepherd and to love.
Sometimes the issue is how we look at things. The Pharisees were caught up in looking for a great warrior king. What they got was not what they expected. As I like to remind many of my friends, how many of them had their married life turn out exactly as they expected and were they planning for an earthly marriage or one made in heaven?
Give to God what is God’s, love God above all things and love your neighbour as yourself.
Peace Fr. Kevin
I remember talking with a married couple many years ago who wanted to know how I gave up everything, my career, money, friends, marriage, everything to become a priest. I pointed out to them, I have a career – I am a pastor, I have friends, I have money for my needs, they just look different than when I worked in the business world. And I even have a family, one that God gave me to watch over and care for, to shepherd and to love.
Sometimes the issue is how we look at things. The Pharisees were caught up in looking for a great warrior king. What they got was not what they expected. As I like to remind many of my friends, how many of them had their married life turn out exactly as they expected and were they planning for an earthly marriage or one made in heaven?
Give to God what is God’s, love God above all things and love your neighbour as yourself.
Peace Fr. Kevin
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