100 Percent
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
2008-10-19
Mt. 22:15-21“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar…and to God what belongs to God.”
Some of you might be thinking that today, I’m going to talk about tithing, about giving money to the Church.
You might think what Jesus is saying here is that we must not only pay taxes to our government, but we must also pay taxes to God.
Now, before my pastor kicks me off the ambo, I must tell you that we DO need to support our parish financially, but, today…I’m not going to talk about money…instead, I’m going to tell you a little story.
A man went to a highly anticipated, totally sold-out basketball game. He found his seat in the crowded arena, and realized that the only empty seat in the entire place was next to him, between he and a woman.
He turned to her and exclaimed, “Wow, Ma’am, it’s hard to believe this seat is unoccupied.”
“Oh,” she said, “This seat was my husband’s. He’s passed away.”
“That’s very touching that you would honor him by keeping this seat for him” he replied. “But, I have to ask, as popular as these games are, didn’t someone in your family want to come to the games?”
“Oh no,” she answered, “They’re at the funeral.”
All joking aside, there is a great lesson to be learned here, because, obviously, in death, and most probably in life, this married couple had issues – problems with priorities.
It seems clear that neither of them gave what the other needed. They didn’t give their partner 100%.
“Now what does this have to do with what is Caesar’s and what is God’s?” you might ask.
To find the answer, we have to determine what Caesar wants, and what God wants.
Well, all Caesar wants is money. It’s that simple. No love, no understanding, no time. Just pay the tax and get out of line. Thank you very much.
But, with God, it’s a little more complex. You see, God wants…you – and He wants ALL of you: your heart, your mind and your body…but ESPECIALLY your body.
In fact, contrary to what the world would have you believe, our bodies do not belong to us. They belong to God.
Hear the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20)
That’s why Jesus said we had to REPAY to God what belongs to God. Because, He bought our bodies, He owns them. And, that makes them holy.
Now, we as Catholics know our bodies are holy.
We use them to bring comfort to the sick, or the grieving.
We use our bodies to bring love and joy to the poor and the forgotten.
We use them in the worship of God as we stand, sit, kneel and genuflect at Mass. We hear the bells, we smell the incense, we gaze upon the Crucifx, and we taste the Eucharistic Jesus. We exalt God in our bodies.
And, for the vast majority of us, our bodies reach their ultimate purpose – their ultimate fulfillment – in the indissoluble bond of Holy Matrimony, the Sacred Covenant of Marriage. Why?
Because, our relationship with our spouse on earth is a foretaste of our relationship with God in heaven, in the sense of a total self-gift within the confines of a covenant.
The encyclical Humanae Vitae, On Human Life, put it beautifully, “The marriage of those who have been baptized is…invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church.” (HV 8)
God loved us so much that He sent His only Son as ransom for our sins – as full payment for our salvation. He gave of Himself totally, He died on the cross, He gave His life for us, 100%.
We must mirror that act in our marriage.
That means we must give of ourselves 100% to our spouse – everything. We can hold NOTHING back. And that includes in the marital union, that most intimate and sacred sharing between two baptized, married children of God.
This is where the Church finds her teaching on contraception. This is why the Church teaches that the use of contraception is always immoral.
Again, from Humanae Vitae we hear, “Every action which…proposes…to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil.” (HV 14)
That’s right, Pope Paul VI called contraception “evil.” The use of contraception is grave matter, and grave matter is the basis for a mortal sin. Those are harsh words…but, never-the-less true.
Contraception has led to so much destruction and devastation in our modern culture. When Humanae Vitae was released in 1968, Pope Paul made several prophetic predictions. All of them have come true.
Divorces, abortion, spousal abuse, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases have all dramatically increased since 1968. The objectification of women is rampant. Pornography is everywhere. In short, morality has gone south for the winter.
Contraception is not the answer – it’s the problem.
(Oh, and by the way…if we want more priests, we need to start having more children!)
And, our well-formed Christian conscience should affirm this. But, some estimates put the number of sexually active Catholics who contracept as high as 80%…80%! How is this possible?
Perhaps, too many of us have let the world form our conscience for us, instead of Christ.
“But, my case is different!” some say.
“The Church doesn’t understand my situation,” others tell us.
“What about for health reasons?”
“We can’t afford any more children.”
“My child is sexually active, and we don’t want them in trouble before they’re married.”
The list goes on and on. Needless to say, this is a complex issue that needs a lot more time to fully cover than I have here. But, suffice it to say that the Catholic Church has good and holy answers to each and every one of these and other questions. And, not one of those answers is “contraception.”
Hear that again…not one of those answers is contraception.
What each answer does begin with, though, is trusting in God. I think sometimes we forget to do that – trust that God loves us and will provide for us.
We often think that we have to fix the problem, we have to get ourselves out of trouble, we a responsible for everything: guess what…we’re not.
If we don’t who will? Well, God will.
We must be in control. We’re not, God is.
We have to “give it all to God.” That’s right, as Jesus said, “Repay to God what belongs to God.”
Every morning in the Liturgy of the Hours, the entire Catholic Church prays the 95th Psalm. And in that Psalm God tells us:
40 years I endured that generation. I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not know my ways.” So, I swore in my anger, “They shall not enter into my rest.” (Ps 95:10-11)
Humanae Vitae was promulgated in 1968. 40 years ago.
How much longer will God endure our generation whose hearts have gone astray? How much longer will we continue on this path of death and destruction?
Pray with me for an end to the assault on the sanctity of marriage. Pray with me for an end to the use of contraception, an end to selfishness. Pray for an end to abortion, to debasement of women, to pornography, to spousal and child abuse.
Pray for an end to the culture of death.
Let us commit ourselves to living a truly Catholic life, a life of total self-gift, total trust, and total love for God, through total love for our spouse.
Give it all to God…100%.