Bound in Love

The gospel reading today has much to tell us about discernment. The end, the goal, of discernment is the identification of the best or truest outcome, and the determination to do what is necessary to achieve it.

Last week, the parable of the wedding feast was also about discernment. The wedding banquet was not limited to one nation but to many, so all are welcome. But if one decides to come, one should come prepared for the feast. If we come but don’t take it seriously – if we do not discern properly – we will be in serious trouble.

This week, we get the gotcha question about taxes paid by Christians to a pagan State authority. The Pharisees are plotting to entrap Jesus. Just like the surprise wedding invitation of last week’s gospel, today we have to discern the right thing to do when asked about the validity of the census tax.

October is a busy month in the Church. It’s the season of finance, and last week we had what is sometimes called the Sermon on the Amount, and hopefully we all spent time in prayer before we returned those pledge cards. We are being asked to discern what we should do with the money that we have, and we are being asked where does God fit in that equation? As Father explained last week, it probably cannot be all our money, but it should really be at least some of our money.

October is also a time when families are beginning to think about school for next year, and it’s also the special pro-life month.

So it’s a time of discernment about money, education, and family life. Where does Caesar fit in here? Where does he not fit in? That’s discernment. And once we have a good understanding of what is Caesar’s and what is not, then we have to commit to the action steps that follow from that understanding.

The money for taxes and for the Church come from the same place: whatever it is we do to put bread on the table for our families. So, it’s all coming from us, which makes it our money. But where did we come from? We came from God, with our parents cooperating to give us birth and raise us. So, in the end, all My money actually comes from God. The money I am forced to pay in taxes to a post-Christian government is part of the cross I must bear. The money I give to the Church is part of me giving back to God what he gave me. God gave us everything, and we thank him by giving some of it back.

If we have children, we understand that God gave them to us. And he gave them to us to raise and educate the best that we can. Good education is more than passing tests and being promoted to the next grade. True education is formation of the intellect and will to acknowledge God’s place in our lives and to grow in docility to His will. Formation is about the human person; our kids are made in the image and likeness of God, and they are precious in his sight. We have a great responsibility to form them well. That should be a significant factor in how we discern where to send them to school.

We defend the right to life, and we should likewise defend the right to proper formation and education. Serious Catholics know the Devil is the ruler of this world, and he is the father of lies. As parents and grandparents trying to get our children properly educated, we are often challenged in our pursuit by the Evil One. This can take many forms:

• We allow ourselves to become convinced we have no choice in the matter. There are no good choices for us where we are.
• The school system doesn’t give our teachers the freedom to be honest about the abilities of each individual child, and so the teachers are pressured to go with the flow even when they know it’s not right.
• We accept “good enough” from ourselves instead of the good that comes from God – the very best. We mail it in, or we figure how the game is played and we play that game.

Consider the wasted opportunity in the dialogue between the Pharisees and Jesus today. The scribes are conversing with Truth itself, but they choose to play debate games.

When God is the foundation of an education, it’s even more than education. It’s formation of mind, body, and will. God is love, and knowledge without love is merely useless data. Technology applied without morality leads to a culture of death. Society is best served if God in our schools. If we are seeking the best education for our children, then we should look for a school that lets God be part of the curriculum. The current effort by some activists to chase God out of every school is very sad, and we should oppose it vigorously.

When God is the foundation of an education, then education can better fit the student. Some people may not be able to hear this, but it is okay not to be good at calculus. Formation of the human person recognizes that we are very different. Some are intellectual, some are technical, some are physical. All can be wise, and all can be foolish. If we are seeking the best education for our children, then we should not let them be in a system where they don’t really fit. Not everyone needs to go to college to be a good and productive member of society. That’s always been true no matter what some might say.

When God is the foundation of an education, he may ask us to make hard choices for our kids because we love them. He may ask us to move to a place where God is present in the school. He may ask us to rearrange our family budgets because the free school system has rejected him. He may ask us to get involved to keep him in those schools.

The end of the Gospel story is that famous instruction to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. The Roman Empire at the time of Jesus was a pre-Christian culture. In 2023, we live and pray in a post-Christian culture. Caesar seems today – as he did back then – to be invincible. The Good news for us and the whole world is that Caesar is just a blip in the salvation history of the world.

Discernment is critical to good stewardship. Give Caesar his coins. Give back to God the good things he has given you: your money and your kids.