MY daily reflection and prayer:
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Solemnity of Indonesia Independence Day
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. Matthew 22:15-21
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The Emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the Emperor the things that are the Emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
TODAY is Indonesia Independence Day. The liturgical calendar of Indonesian Catholic Church today invites us to celebrate the Solemnity of Indonesia Independence Day. We pray for this nation and country we live that will be always in peace and harmony.
In the Gospel reading today Jesus says, “Give therefore to the Emperor the things that are the Emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” What does it mean?
First of all Jesus wants to say that we are the image of God. God reigns our lives more than the Emperor. So we must give God what is God’s.
God reigns our lives not by destructing but by constructing. His power of love and mercy is stronger than all the power of the world. With this in mind, we give God what is Gid’s and to the emperor what is his.
Trully, in the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist, while adoring Jesus Christ we learn to give God what is God’s. There we give what is eternal, our souls, over to God because we belong to him. Do we give God what is God’s?
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, we belong to God for he has created us in his likeness. He is the only one source of peace and happiness. May we always give him what is his by adoring him through you now and forever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
