Don't even think of doing it!

Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples, If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. ‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, "You fool!" shall be liable to the hell of fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’

Food for thought!

"You have learnt … But I say to you."

In these words, Jesus shows us that he knows that we have other teachers. He says, You have learnt! This means that indeed, there are other teachers in this world, besides Jesus. He knows it. This is not the point. The point is that Jesus tells us that notwithstanding what we have learnt from whoever has taught us, he wants us to drop that teaching and adopt his teaching.

But I say to you. 

This saying means that regardles of what we have learnt…Jesus teaches us something else. Yes, many times in contradiction to what we know; Jesus sometimes contradicts us in what we know. Jesus speaks with an authority which no other man had ever dreamed of assuming: the authority which Jesus assumed always amazed those who came into contact with him. Right at the beginning of his ministry, after he had been teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, it is said of his hearers: "They were astonished at his teaching; for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the Scribes" (Mk.1:22). 

Jesus took the highest wisdom of men and corrected it, because he was who he was. He did not need to argue; it was sufficient for him to speak. No one can honestly face Jesus and honestly listen to him without feeling that this is God's last word beside which all other teaching is inadequate, and all other wisdom out of date.

But startling as was Jesus' accent of authority, the standard which he put before men was more startling yet. Jesus said that in God's sight it was not only the man who committed murder who was guilty, the man who was angry with his brother was also guilty and liable to judgment. Here was something which was entirely new, something which we have not yet fully grasped. It was Jesus' teaching that it was not enough not to commit murder; the only thing sufficient was never even to wish to commit murder.

It may be that we have never struck another person; but who can say that he never wished to strike another person? It was Jesus' teaching that thoughts are just as important as deeds, and that it is not enough not to commit a sin; the only thing that is enough is not to wish to commit it. It was Jesus' teaching that a man is not judged only by his deeds, but is judged even more by the desires which never emerged in deeds. By the world's standards a man is a good man, if he never does a forbidden thing. The world is not concerned to judge his thoughts. By Jesus' standards, a man is not a good man until he never even desires to do a forbidden thing. Jesus is intensely concerned with our thoughts.

Remember by telling!

Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’ Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, tell it to others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.

Food for thought!

In the Old Testament, we find this reading from Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9

Moses said to the people: Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and
take possession of the land that God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you. 5-6 Pay attention: I'm teaching you the rules and regulations that God commanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership. Keep them. Practice them. You'll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what's going on, they'll say, "What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We've never seen anything like it."

7-8 Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us? And what other great nation has rules and regulations as good and fair as this Revelation that I'm setting before you today?

9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

I am sure most of people are like me: they forget the readings moments after listening to them; research shows that most people do forget the reading of the day shortly after, and many people do forget the things they even asked the Lord. If you are like me, the readings of toady are about not forgeting the things the Lord does for us or tells us.

And the best way is by telling others what the Lord has done for us or has told. It is by telling that we remember: «But take it seriously, tell it to others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.» 

«Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.»

In other words, the best way to remember the things the Lord tells us is by sharing them with the others. Or better, REMEMBER BY TELLING!

Be salt to your world!

Matthew 5:13-16

¹³"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

^14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Food for thought!
In the Bible Jesus calls himself various names like, I am the Goodshepherd, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the Vine, I am the Gate, and many others. But other times Jesus calls us names, like today he is referring to us as "salt" and "light". What is Jesus telling us about us?
Jesus calls us salt because of our preserving ability; we preserve society from going rotten; from going bad; from getting destroyed. Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19? Those people could have been saved if they had been just 10 righteous men or Christians; but there were nobody, and the whole city was destroyed. So please don't go bad if and when everybody around you goes or does evil. If at your work place you see verybody cutting the corners, please, you don't follow suit; the presence and the prayers of "salty" Christians preserves and saves the rest from catastrophy.
Jesus call us salt because of our penetrating ability, just as salt will penetrate and infiltrate whatever it touches. It is an aggressive substance. We have been called by the Lord to be an active force in the world around us. However, it is possible for us to loose our saltiness as well. This happens to us when we come into too close contact with the world; when get to be more like the world than we are like the Lord, then we have lost that thing that sets us apart and makes us valuable to the world. "If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage."
Jesus calls us salt because of our purifying ability. Salt is a cleaner. In the Bible, Elisha cleansed the waters at Jericho with salt (2 Kings 2:19-22). In ancient times, newborn babies were washed in salt to cleanse their bodies and to give firmness to their skin, (Ezekiel. 16:4). Salt when applied to the wound can clean it. Wherever salt is there is purity. Please, don't be offended if people stop talking (nonsense) when you come around. Just thank God that you are acting as a purifying force in the world around you.
Jesus calls salts because of our pleasing ability. Salt always blends and adds flavor to food. You know from experience that some food is just tasteles without salt; salt bring out the best out of food. So too, the Christian should flavor the world around him. As salt, we are to help other people be and do their best.
Jesus calls us salt becaue of our poisoning ability. Salt can kill. Ever poured salt on a slug or iron? Slugs and salt do not mix! Salt poured on a lawn will kill the grass. In the Old Testament Abimelech took a city and spread salt all over the place to prevent the ground from being used to grow crops again; he killed the fields with salt (Judges 9:45). By the same token, when Jesus comes into a life, drinking, fighting, hating, killing, drugging, loose living, gossiping, etc, are all put to death in the name of Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17.)
Jesus calls us salt because of our promoting ability. Salt creates a thirst for water in those who are exposed to it. As salt, the Christian has the wonderful opportunity to promote a thirst for Jesus in the world. Remember what the Lord told us? He said that out of our bellies would flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38). When we live as Christ, when we take the call of Jesus seriously and live right, look right, act right, talk right, worship right, dress right, love right, etc. we able to create a thirst for Jesus in the hearts of those around us.
Ours is the business of purifying, preserving, penetrating, pleasing and promoting love, peace, kindness just Jesus did in his time. God help us to be salty Christians.

Btw. Salt was very valuable in the ancient world. So valuable, in fact, that the Roman soldiers were often paid their wages not in money but in salt. This payment was called "salarium," from which word comes our word "salary" (wage).

Jesus is an optimist!

Matthew 5:1-12

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit;

  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle:

  they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn:

  they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:

  they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful:

  they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart:

  they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers:

  they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven: this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.’

Food for thought

The gospel reading begins by saying, "Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak." It all started by seeing. There is something special Jesus saw in those people. This something is so important that it made Jesus 1) go up the hill, 2) sit down, 3) speak.

What Jesus saw is what he said: a blessing, a happiness, a joy that is beyond all suffering and poverty. In us there is something special. We normally judge people according to what they have and own. For us, the happy are the rich; the rich are the happy people. But this is not true; happiness is not tangible, it is not material, it is not visible. Happiness is spiritual because it is in the spirit.

And since God created us in his own image and likeness, so the likeness of man is in his being spiritual. That is why it is possible to be happy and poor, to be happy in suffering, to be happy in gentleness, to be happy in the hardships of life.

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to be happy no matter what is taking place in their lives? There is a buoyancy to their spirit and a sparkle to their personalities. A kind of glowing field of energy seems to radiate from their faces, their words, and from their works. There are others who seem to be predisposed to gloomy, negative thoughts. They seem to live in a perpetual shower of unhappiness.

What can make the difference between a healthy, happy person and a miserable, gloomy person? Choices! One person is an optimist and the other is a pessimist.  The optimist is like Jesus; he sees the good in all people and all circumstances of life. The pessimist sees only the darker side of others and of life.

Who are you? An optimist or pessimist? Christ and Christians are optimist.

Hope in Jesus still?

Luke: 7:11-17

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk again, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.

Food for thought!

When Jesus came to Nain that day, he did not arrive at a joyous moment. He arrived during a time of great grief and mourning. The name “Nain” literally means “beauty.” But, there was no beauty in Nain that day. Death had invaded the little town of Nain. We are told that the victim is a young man. That he is “the only son of his mother”. And we are told that the mother was a widow. In other words, she had lost her husband, and now her son. Double tragedy!

Here is a young man whose life had been filled with great potential. He might have had hopes of marriage and of fathering children, but now he is dead. There may have been plans of going into business to support himself and his widowed mother, but now he is dead. Those eyes which had been bright with the gleam of youth are now dulled by death. That mind that had hoped and dreamed of a bright future was now stilled by the cold embrace of death. That voice that had laughed and cried has been silenced forever. Death has come and it has brought with it all the cruelness and heartache it possesses.

You will notice the wording of the text: “a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.” Here is a woman who has already felt the icy hand of death as it took her husband from her life. The only things remaining from her marriage are a few memories and the only son that she and her husband brought into the world. Now, her precious son has been taken away by death as well.

But, there is more here than just the death of a beloved son. This poor woman has no one left to care for her in her old age. In that day there was no welfare or assistance available to widows like her. It was up to a woman’s children, especially her sons, to see that she was cared for in her declining years. But, she has no one left! She is all alone, helpless and caught in a desperate condition.

The gospel says that the dead man began to talk AGAIN! Jesus is not only the Lord of life; he is the Lord of death also. This miracle, as the miracle of his own resurrection, is what makes Jesus stand out of all the other religious figures. As you know, Jesus raised three dead people from the dead. One had just died (Luke 8:40-56); the second is this one of today's gospel, who was being carried to be buried; the third is Lazarus that had been in the tomb four days (Jn 11:1-44).

What is noteworthy about all of them, is the moment they were brought back to life: one had just died. Another was on the way to the cemetery. The last was in the cemetery already for four days. It means that, for Jesus, time means nothing. He will rise those who died long ago, those who died recently, and those who will have died. He will rise us all who believe that he will.

It also means that for Jesus it is never too late. With Jesus, we can rise up from where we fell, regardless of when. If and when we fall into sin, into hopelessness, into helplessness, into confusion, into desperation, He can bring us back to normality, regardless. It means that never loose hope in Jesus, with Jesus never write yourself or anybody off. You are never too dead to rise up again. There's no sin, no state he cannot rescue us from. To him be praise and honor and glory, both for now and for ever. Amen.

Mary's Food for Thought!

Luke 2:41-52

41 Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. 43 After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss him at first, 44 because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn't show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they couldn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. 46 Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 His parents didn't know what to think. "Son," his mother said to him, "why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere." 49 "But why did you need to search?" he asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 But they didn't understand what he meant. 51 Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. 52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

Food for thought!

There are few gospel readings showing us the humanity of Jesus as this one. It shows us not only how human Jesus was but also how human his family was; Jesus grew up as a normal boy, in a normal family, just like the rest of us. His life expanded like other human lives. He learned as other boys; he obeyed as other children. The gospel says of Jesus he “was obedient to them”; and that he “grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” As Jesus waited patiently for growth, so must each of us.

And of Jesus’ parents the gospel says some revealing things. For instance, it says “Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival,” meaning by this that they were practicing faithful; Joseph and Mary practiced their faith; they were regular “church” goers. Regular attendance upon worship is likewise enjoined upon us (Heb. 10:25).

As we have said quite often, bad things do happen even to good people. After one of the celebrations, they left for home, and the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn't know it. Joseph and Mary were just like the rest of us; they missed out on some things like losing their child; they assumed he was among the other travelers.

Having lost Jesus, these very human parents “started looking for him among their relatives and friends.” Just like the rest of us, they looked for Jesus in the wrong places, for three full days. Like them, we often look for Jesus in places where he is not: relatives and friends! Did you notice Jesus’ question to Joseph and Mary? "But why did you need to search?" he asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" It is as if he said: Where were you searching for me, when I was all the time in the Temple? This is what Jesus will ask us when, after our death, he will meet us: "But why did you need to search? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" 

Just as Joseph and Mary lost temporarily Christ, a divine gift to them, we too can and many times do lose him, though he be God’s gift to us.

When they couldn't find him among relatives and friends, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there, where they later finally discovered him, after 3 days, in the Temple, teaching. This is crucially important; it shows the importance of the temple and of the teachings of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus also having lost him in the grave, found him after 3 days.

To all parents. It is not uncommon for parents to lose their children or even to misunderstand them. The gospel says that when Jesus said, "But why did you need to search? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" they “didn't understand what he meant.” Like the rest of us, Mary and Joseph were slow to understand Jesus. But even as his parents could not understand everything about him, Jesus obeyed them. What a lesson...!

By the way, the words "But why did you need to search? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" are Jesus’ first recorded words on earth. The last ones are "Father, I place my life in your hands!" (Lk 23:46). He began with Father and ended with Father!

Mary’s Food for Thought! “And his mother stored all these things in her heart.” The gospel mentions on different occasions that Mary treasured sayings of angels, shepherds, wise men and prophets (Simeon). She now began to add to these the sayings of Christ himself. Mary is the perfect model for our Food for Thought!

Different and Unique!

Luke 15:3-7

Jesus spoke this parable to the scribes and Pharisees: ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.’

Food for Thought:

The parable of the lost sheep is a clear indication that in God's economy everybody counts. It means that one is as good as many and many are as good as one. Why this? Because there's none of us somewhere else; if any of us is lost there's no more of us living somewhere. It means there's is only one of you, only one of me; you're not repeated and are not repeatable. When we're lost we're lost because they is no substitute. This is why the shepherd left the ninety nine to go after one. This is why God does not want to lose even the little ones.

What does this mean in practice? It means that we're special; that all of us and each one of us is special; it means that there is none like you, there is none like me; that God custom made each one of us different; that each one of us is a different story, a unique story. It means that though there may be similarities in our individual stories, we're completely different. It means that each one's story will have a different ending. Your story will end different and uniquely; my story will end differently and uniquely. It is my story; it is your story. So, mind your story.

The parable shows us that God deals with us on a one to one basis. Though we're many, some say too many, we're known individually and we count. If God deals with us individually, we must deal with God as individuals. Some of us relate with God when we're among many and don't know how to relate with God as individuals.

If God made us different and UNIQUE, why do we envy other people? We should instead admire ourselves and the gifts God gave us. Be happy with what you have received from God instead of envying what God gave to others. And appreciate and develop that which makes you unique. Do you know your uniqueness, by the way? Don't live like anybody else. Leave their story and start to live your story.

With all your mind!

Mark 12:28-34

One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. 30 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” 32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.” 34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Food for the mind!

As we all know, there too many rules and regulations and commandments in our faith community, so much so that sometimes you wonder which is the most important. This was the question put to Jesus: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind." These are the words Jesus said in reply to the question posted by a teacher of religion. I want and am going to base our reflection today solely on this one: WITH ALL YOUR MIND!

Why are we exhorted to love with all our mind? As you know, I our mind plays a fundamental role in our life, including spiritual life. A human being is a unity of two distinct realities-body and soul.' More specifically, I am my soul and I have a body. The soul (which is the same thing as the self or the I) is that immaterial, invisible thing that makes me a conscious, living human being. The soul is who I am. I go where my soul goes. If God took my soul and put it into your body and placed your soul into my body, we would have different bodies. If my soul leaves my body, I leave my body because I am my soul.

The mind is that faculty of the soul that contains thoughts and beliefs; it is with my mind that I think, and my mind contains my beliefs. The greatest commandment in the Bible is to love God. And Jesus says to do this not only with our heart and soul but also with our mind. The major activity of the mind is “thinking.” So to love God with the mind is to love him in the way we use our mind to think. No wonder that St. Paul exhorts us: "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Let us do our best by filling our minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious; the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Phil 4:8).

Please notice that Jesus says ALL your mind! This means using our thinking to the full engagement of the mind: "Our thinking should be wholly engaged". Loving God is an experience of cherishing, delighting, admiring, and valuing. It’s the sort of thing Paul was expressing for Jesus when he said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).

WHY ALL THIS THEORY?

Just to say that our FOOD FOR THOUGHT is exactly that: food for our mind! 

Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” The more and better you use your mind the closer you are to the Kingdom of God.

No death no marriage!

Mark 12:18-27

Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to Jesus and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

  

Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’

Food for thought!

Yesterday, some religious leaders sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to test Jesus. Again today, another set of people came to Jesus with a test question designed to make the belief in individual resurrection look ridiculous. The question of the Sadducees was simply this, if there is at all any resurrection of the dead, whose wife will be a woman who in life got married to seven men?They thought that by asking that question they rendered the idea of resurrection completely ridiculous.

Jesus' answer really falls into two parts. First, he deals with the manner of the resurrection. He lays it down that when a person rises again, the old laws of physical life no longer apply. The risen people are like angels and physical things like marrying and being married no longer enter apply. In other words, Jesus is saying that marrying and get married is for this life alone. And this is because this life ends. And so, in order to prolong themselves, people marry and get married to get offspring, which is another way of living on after death.

It means that the reason why there is marriage is death; where there's death there is marriage; where there's no death (like in heaven) there's no marriage. In the life to come, there's no more death, and by extension, there cannot be marriage. No death, no marriage. Why would people marry and get married if they live on forever? This is the reason angels never marry; but humans do. God made marriage for this life, and this life only. Who misses it in this life misses it for ever.

Second, Jesus deals with the fact of the resurrection. He uses the Bible to prove the resurrection. From Exodus 3:6, God calls himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. If God is the God of these dead men, it means that they must still be alive, for the living God must be the God of living people, and not of those who are dead. And if the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob do live then the resurrection is proved.

Jesus comforts us that the relationship between God and good people is everlasting; it survives death; it goes beyond death. God was the friend of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when they lived. That friendship could not cease with death. As the Psalmist said, «But I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand. You give me wise advice to guide me. And when I die, you will take me away into the glory of heaven. (Ps.73:23-24.)

Before we go, many of us are many times wrong just because we are many times wrong with the Scriptures (the Bible) and that is because we under estimate the power of God. Ignorance of the Bible and of the power of God is at the origin of our mistakes and errors and blunders. Many people believe the Bible from cover to cover, but very few people have read the Bible from cover to cover! We too have made a big mistake.

Citizen & Christian!

Mark 12:13-17

13 Later the religious leaders sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to trap him with his own words. 14 They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of honor. You don't let others tell you what to do or say. You don't care how important they are. But you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew what they were trying to do. So he asked, "Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let me look at it." 16 They brought the coin. He asked them, "Whose picture is this? And whose words?" "Caesar's," they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give to God what belongs to God." They were amazed at him.

Food for thought!

Jesus never laid down rules and regulations, but principles; that is why his teaching is timeless and never grows old. Rules grow old, principles don't. In today's gospel Jesus lays down a very great and very important principle.

Every Christian man has a double citizenship. He is a citizen of the country in which he happens to live. To it he owes many things. He owes the safety against lawless men which only settled government can give; he owes all public services. To take a simple example, few men are wealthy enough to have a lighting system of their own or a cleansing system or a water system of their own. These are public services, belonging to all. In a welfare state the citizen owes still more to the state--education, medical services, provision for unemployment and old age. This places him under a debt of obligation. Because the Christian is a man of honour, he must be a responsible citizen; failure in good citizenship is also failure in Christian duty. A bad Christian is always a bad citizen, and a bad citizen is first a bad Christian.

That is not all. The coin had Caesar's image upon it, and therefore belonged to Caesar. Man has God's image upon him, because God created man in his own image (Gen.1:26-27), and therefore man belongs to God and owes allegiance and obedience to God. In other words, it is our duty and our salvation to adore and praise and thank and glorify the Lord. It means that when we pray, when we go to church, when we obey God's commandments, we simply fulfill our obligation to the Lord.

A real Christian--and this is the permanent truth which Jesus here lays down--is at one and the same time a good citizen of his country and a good citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. He will fail in his duty neither to God nor to man. He will, as Peter said, "Fear God. Honour the emperor" (1Pet.2:17).