Today’s text
Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with some Herodians, to say, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in all honesty, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you. Give us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, 'You hypocrites! Why are you putting me to the test? Show me the money you pay the tax with.' They handed him a denarius, and he said, 'Whose portrait is this? Whose title?' They replied, 'Caesar's.' Then he said to them, 'Very well, pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and God what belongs to God.'
Reflection
Your question is so obvious this morning, dearest Friend--and so personal. To whom do I belong? To whom or what is my heart given?
Am I given to you?
I should be, for I am yours. I have loved you since before I much knew you. And you have loved me since before my creation. You were present then, making me in the image of your wisdom and purpose, your joy and desire. And my joy is found only in giving myself to the purpose and desire you formed in this soul that is me.
Yet, I have been holding myself back. My heart is not ready to be fully given to your purpose, your way. It resists surrendering to love as you love, to risk as you risk, fully engaging the souls around me.
I think it is fear that holds me back, although I feel no dread and little anxiety in these days. But I know that loving makes one vulnerable, and in these days I crave safety. (But I always have). So, I wall off parts of my heart, sharing them rarely and only with just a few, or one.
It is easier to stand back and look at things from a distance, disconnected from what is really happening.
It’s a reflex. Human, certainly. And it reflects recent years of feeling abused and misunderstood.
But my awareness of the state of my soul also reveals discontent. I do not have the joy I crave. I want more, that more that I can have only by loving and giving, surrendering my heart even where it resists.
Give to God what belongs to God, you say. I haven’t been. But I know that I need to. My soul’s satisfaction is found in no other way but this surrender.
So today, dearest Friend, let me give my whole heart to the souls and tasks you have placed in my care.
Pr. David L. Miller
http://prayingthemystery.blogspot.com/
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Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with some Herodians, to say, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in all honesty, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you. Give us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, 'You hypocrites! Why are you putting me to the test? Show me the money you pay the tax with.' They handed him a denarius, and he said, 'Whose portrait is this? Whose title?' They replied, 'Caesar's.' Then he said to them, 'Very well, pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and God what belongs to God.'
Reflection
What belongs to you, my Lord? Or should I say who belongs to you? The Earth is yours and its fullness, and today I wonder about all faces that seldom appear on the front page The hungry, the forgotten, the refugee, the homeless.
I think of those I met in refugee camps and death watches in starving places. I see the children whose haunted faces reflected the horrors of which this world is so terribly capable. Their young eyes knew almost nothing other than hunger and war.
Forbid their faces from fading from my mind, for they belong to you, too. And what is that to me?
Give to God what belongs to God? I cannot give them to you. They are already yours, their names and faces are not hidden from you. You cannot forget them, even when I do.
They are yours, and you would tend them like a loving mother, like a father holding them safe in your shadow. And I belong to you, too.
So your command is clear: Give to God what is God’s. My life is yours, the breath in my lungs, the strength of hand and mind--all of it, yours.
Give them to me, you say. Give them to my holy purpose. And that? Life, full and abundant, generous and overflowing, just like your heart, Holy One.
May I give myself to you with the same generosity that you give yourself to me and all you love. Then, maybe then, my heart will truly be given to you, knowing the freedom for which I long, no longer the frustration of being bound within myself.
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with some Herodians, to say, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in all honesty, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you. Give us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, 'You hypocrites! Why are you putting me to the test? Show me the money you pay the tax with.' They handed him a denarius, and he said, 'Whose portrait is this? Whose title?' They replied, 'Caesar's.' Then he said to them, 'Very well, pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and God what belongs to God.'
Reflection
What belongs to you, my Lord? Or should I say who belongs to you? The Earth is yours and its fullness, and today I wonder about all faces that seldom appear on the front page The hungry, the forgotten, the refugee, the homeless.
I think of those I met in refugee camps and death watches in starving places. I see the children whose haunted faces reflected the horrors of which this world is so terribly capable. Their young eyes knew almost nothing other than hunger and war.
Forbid their faces from fading from my mind, for they belong to you, too. And what is that to me?
Give to God what belongs to God? I cannot give them to you. They are already yours, their names and faces are not hidden from you. You cannot forget them, even when I do.
They are yours, and you would tend them like a loving mother, like a father holding them safe in your shadow. And I belong to you, too.
So your command is clear: Give to God what is God’s. My life is yours, the breath in my lungs, the strength of hand and mind--all of it, yours.
Give them to me, you say. Give them to my holy purpose. And that? Life, full and abundant, generous and overflowing, just like your heart, Holy One.
May I give myself to you with the same generosity that you give yourself to me and all you love. Then, maybe then, my heart will truly be given to you, knowing the freedom for which I long, no longer the frustration of being bound within myself.
Pr. David L. Miller
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
October 14, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with some Herodians, to say, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in all honesty, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you. Give us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, 'You hypocrites! Why are you putting me to the test? Show me the money you pay the tax with.' They handed him a denarius, and he said, 'Whose portrait is this? Whose title?' They replied, 'Caesar's.' Then he said to them, 'Very well, pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and God what belongs to God.'
Reflection
They thought they had you, Jesus. And I must admit it is a clever question. The Herodians supported paying the taxes to maintain favor with Roman occupiers. The Pharisees favored resisting Rome, choosing to serve God alone, not the state.
No matter how you answered you would alienate one side or the other. And you might even get yourself arrested for stirring resistance to the powers that be.
What no one expected was that your response would echo through the rest of history. I know, you were simply side-stepping your opponents’ well-laid ambush: “Give to Caesar what belong to him, and to God what belongs to God.”
But your words beg an eternal question: Just what does belong to God?
The question haunts every soul who is aware of the simple fact that they did not create themselves. What is really mine, and what belongs to the Mystery who made me and all that is?
The answer is not hard. The world and all it holds is yours, my Lord, shared with us for our joy and the service of your holy purpose. And our joy is, indeed, part of your purpose.
But the first awareness is that I am yours, all I am and have is yours, and all is to be used to honor you.
Your clever words to your opponents offer no clues about how to do that. You simply ask us to live and choose our way in light of this simple awareness: You are the Infinite Source of all that is, and all life in every moment is to savored and handled to honor you.
Know this, you say, and find your way. And know also that every soul you meet and touch today belongs also to me.
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with some Herodians, to say, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in all honesty, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you. Give us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, 'You hypocrites! Why are you putting me to the test? Show me the money you pay the tax with.' They handed him a denarius, and he said, 'Whose portrait is this? Whose title?' They replied, 'Caesar's.' Then he said to them, 'Very well, pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and God what belongs to God.'
Reflection
They thought they had you, Jesus. And I must admit it is a clever question. The Herodians supported paying the taxes to maintain favor with Roman occupiers. The Pharisees favored resisting Rome, choosing to serve God alone, not the state.
No matter how you answered you would alienate one side or the other. And you might even get yourself arrested for stirring resistance to the powers that be.
What no one expected was that your response would echo through the rest of history. I know, you were simply side-stepping your opponents’ well-laid ambush: “Give to Caesar what belong to him, and to God what belongs to God.”
But your words beg an eternal question: Just what does belong to God?
The question haunts every soul who is aware of the simple fact that they did not create themselves. What is really mine, and what belongs to the Mystery who made me and all that is?
The answer is not hard. The world and all it holds is yours, my Lord, shared with us for our joy and the service of your holy purpose. And our joy is, indeed, part of your purpose.
But the first awareness is that I am yours, all I am and have is yours, and all is to be used to honor you.
Your clever words to your opponents offer no clues about how to do that. You simply ask us to live and choose our way in light of this simple awareness: You are the Infinite Source of all that is, and all life in every moment is to savored and handled to honor you.
Know this, you say, and find your way. And know also that every soul you meet and touch today belongs also to me.
Pr. David L. Miller
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