Today, we marvel again at Christ's wit and wisdom. With his masterly response, He directly points out to the fair autonomy of the worldly realities: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar” (Mk 12:17).
Today's Word, however, is something more than knowing how to successfully get out of a conflict; it is something utterly relevant to all aspects of our life: what am I giving God? Is it really what I value the most in my life? Where did I place my heart? Because... “where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Lk 12:34).
Yes, indeed, according to St. Jerome, “you must necessarily render unto Caesar the coin in his image; but you willingly give your best to God, because it is his image, not Caesar's, that is on us”. Throughout his life, Jesus Christ constantly poses the matter of choice. It is up to us to choose, and our options are clear: either we choose the worldly values to live by or we decide to live by the Gospel's values.
It is always a time for choice before us, a time for conversion, a time to “replace” our life again in the dynamics of God. Our prayer, and specially the prayer made by God's Word, will allow us to discover what God expects of us. He who chooses God becomes God's dwelling place, for “whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (Jn 14:23). And prayer becomes the true school where, as Tertullian says, “Christ teaches us which was the Father's will He carried out in this world and what was the duty of man so that it is in agreement with this very purpose”. If only we would succeed in choosing what is most convenient to us!