WEBVTT
00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:05.759
Top of the morning to you, brothers and sisters.
00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:06.879
Thank you for joining me.
00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:10.400
Father Ron, gospel in the notes, be sure and take a look.
00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:14.800
And I have to start by telling you about this old lady that I heard about.
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:23.920
She was talking to her minister about the end of time, about death, what comes next, her funeral, and all of these things.
00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:29.280
And at one point he asked her, he said, Well, let me ask you something, Margaret.
00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:32.640
Do you believe in the hereafter?
00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.719
And she responded, Absolutely I do.
00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:39.119
I think about it every day.
00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:44.079
I walk into a room and I think, now what am I hereafter?
00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:47.759
That's me.
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:48.960
That's not an old lady.
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:50.399
That's an old priest.
00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:52.320
Every day that happens.
00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:54.880
But anyway, thanks for joining me.
00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:58.560
Um, hey, a quick announcement before we begin today.
00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:10.560
Uh this is the last day you can include a deceased picture of your loved one in our mosaic for the All Souls Mass this November 2nd.
00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.640
As you know, we've done it every year.
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:26.239
So the link to upload the picture and name of someone who died this past year that you'd like uh to pray for at the Mass, it's in the show notes, the link, as well as in the week ahead and our website.
00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:29.599
So just to let you know, the end of today is the deadline for that.
00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:30.879
Thank you for that.
00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.000
Okay, so our gospel today.
00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:40.879
Wow, they're trying to trap Jesus in a political controversy.
00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:51.359
You know, if he supports paying taxes to Caesar, he risks alienating the Jewish people who resent the Roman rule.
00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:58.400
But if he opposes the tax, he risks being accused of rebellion.
00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:04.400
Either way, they think they've trapped Jesus and they got him.
00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:06.799
One of those aha moments.
00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:07.760
Gotcha.
00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:11.680
But Jesus turns the table.
00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:17.520
Holding up a coin, he asks, Whose image is on it?
00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:21.199
Caesar's, they reply.
00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:26.879
Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:36.879
In other words, if Caesar's image is imprinted on it, then it's his.
00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:39.520
End of discussion.
00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:44.080
Except of course it's not the end.
00:02:44.879 --> 00:03:01.520
Because Jesus isn't really interested in talking about Caesar or coins, he's inviting us to consider something much deeper, something far more personal than that.
00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:06.319
This is the question I think he's really asking today.
00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:13.759
Whose image is imprinted upon your life?
00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:19.039
Who do you belong to?
00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:27.039
Scripture tells us that you were created in the image and likeness of God.
00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:44.159
Those beautiful words, you know, in Psalm 139 remind us that God knit you together in your mother's womb, that you are, it says, fearfully and wonderfully made.
00:03:45.120 --> 00:04:02.479
Before you ever accomplished anything, earned anything, or made a name for yourself, God had already placed his image upon you.
00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:05.759
Think about that.
00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:13.360
Before anyone knew your name, God knew you.
00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:26.480
His image was there from the beginning.
00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:46.079
And so if the coin belongs to Caesar because his image is on it, then surely we belong to God because we bear his image.
00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:49.680
Or should.
00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:59.360
I mean, isn't isn't that what we pray together every day in our normal prayer, our letting-go prayer after the prayer, closing prayer?
00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:04.879
You know, we pray together, To you do I belong, O God.
00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:10.720
Into your hands I surrender my life.
00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:12.000
And on.
00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:15.279
Such beautiful words.
00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:16.560
Of course I wrote them.
00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.959
So of course I think they are, but they are, you know?
00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.040
So here's the question.
00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.920
If you pray that, do you really mean it?
00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:38.480
Because when you think about it, we're pretty good at surrendering ourselves to all sorts of things.
00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:39.120
Right?
00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:44.240
We give our time, we surrender our time to work, to leisure.
00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:49.439
We surrender, we give our attention to responsibilities and worries.
00:05:49.600 --> 00:06:01.839
We give our energy to other people, we give our money to pay the bills, and by the end of the day, sometimes there's precious little left to give to God.
00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:09.920
I remember being on a parish mission not long ago talking about this very thing.
00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:27.920
And afterwards, a gentleman came up to me and said, You know, Father, I've been thinking as you were talking up there, in my life, I give more of my time every day to Netflix than I do to God.
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:32.639
I gotta change that, he said.
00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:41.680
And as he turned and kind of walked away, I thought to myself, oh do I.
00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:43.920
Oh my god.
00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:45.519
You know, it's easy to do.
00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:47.199
Have you seen East of Eden?
00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:48.480
It's really good.
00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:51.439
You know, we'll binge a show, no problem.
00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:56.399
But when's the last time you binged Jesus?
00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:02.319
Now, nothing wrong with Netflix or a good movie or show.
00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:06.079
Little relaxation at the end of a long day, not a worry.
00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:09.279
But it does raise a question, doesn't it?
00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:22.879
We say we belong to God, we pray that we belong to God, but does the way we live suggest the same thing?
00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:35.600
Not how much do I owe God, rather how much of my heart have I actually allowed God to have?
00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:41.759
Because here's what I love about God.
00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:47.920
One of the things, he doesn't simply want something from us.
00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.600
He wants us.
00:07:54.079 --> 00:08:00.160
Not just an hour on Sunday, you know, not just a few prayers squeezed into a busy day.
00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.480
He wants our hearts.
00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:12.079
He wants to be to be part of our joys and our sorrows, our decisions, struggles, our hopes, disappointment.
00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:22.240
He wants to be welcomed into the ordinary, everyday moments of this coin we call our life.
00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:31.680
Not because he's demanding his share, but because he's in love with us.
00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:37.120
And he wants us to fall in love with him.
00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:41.039
This beautiful, loving relationship.
00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.799
That's what he wants.
00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:47.600
That's what this whole business of faith is really all about.
00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:59.440
Not fulfilling obligations, but growing in a relationship of love with the one to whom we belong.
00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:04.720
And that brings me back to the coin.
00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.639
Remember the question Jesus asked in this gospel?
00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:11.919
Whose image is this?
00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:19.279
Well, maybe that's a good question for each of us to carry into this coming week.
00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:26.159
What image do people see when they look at my life?
00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:41.200
When they hear the words that come out of my mouth, when they see how I treat someone who irritates me, how I respond when things don't go my way, how I behave behind the wheel on the interstate.
00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.399
Do they see something of God?
00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:50.320
His patience, his compassion, right, his generosity?
00:09:50.559 --> 00:10:03.200
Is there something about the way I live that quietly tells the world this person belongs to God?
00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:14.879
I think maybe I'm safe to say that perhaps we can all do a bit better with that.
00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:20.320
It's like an old coin that's been sitting in a drawer for years.
00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:24.879
The image stamped upon it hasn't disappeared.
00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:29.360
It's just become tarnished and worn, difficult to see.
00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:41.200
But give it a little attention, give it a little care, a little polishing, and slowly the image begins to shine again.
00:10:42.159 --> 00:11:05.600
Well, friends, that's our invitation this week to shine, to do a little spiritual polishing, brush away some of the resentment we've been carrying, wipe away a little of that selfishness, to loosen our grip on something that's keeping us from him, to make a little more room for prayer, for kindness.
00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:08.559
So join me, we're gonna end here.
00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:09.840
Join me in this.
00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:20.559
Find a quarter, um, you know, uh 25 cents a quarter, or a euro, or a Rand, or whatever, a coin, or a few coins.
00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:25.759
And this week, keep them loose in your pocket.
00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:27.840
Just drop them in there.
00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:43.679
And then during the week, when you randomly reach into your pocket for your keys or lip gloss or breathman or whatever, and hear the coins jingle, let it remind you of all of this that we've been talking about.
00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:47.200
Grab one of the coins, take a second and look at it.
00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:53.600
And then remember the question Jesus asked: Whose image is this?
00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:57.919
Whose image is this?
00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.600
And then remember whose image is stamped upon you.
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:06.960
You are God's.
00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.240
Yours have been, always will be.
00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:23.840
And perhaps the most beautiful thing we can do with the life He's given us is to let the world see the one to whom we belong.
00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:26.879
Amen?
00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:28.639
I hope so.
00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:30.080
Thanks for being with me.
00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:33.440
God bless you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:34.240
Amen.
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.399
Have a beautiful day, friends, and we'll see you tomorrow for prayer.
00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:05.759
Top of the morning to you, brothers and sisters.
00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:06.879
Thank you for joining me.
00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:10.400
Father Ron, gospel in the notes, be sure and take a look.
00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:14.800
And I have to start by telling you about this old lady that I heard about.
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:23.920
She was talking to her minister about the end of time, about death, what comes next, her funeral, and all of these things.
00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:29.280
And at one point he asked her, he said, Well, let me ask you something, Margaret.
00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:32.640
Do you believe in the hereafter?
00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.719
And she responded, Absolutely I do.
00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:39.119
I think about it every day.
00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:44.079
I walk into a room and I think, now what am I hereafter?
00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:47.759
That's me.
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:48.960
That's not an old lady.
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:50.399
That's an old priest.
00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:52.320
Every day that happens.
00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:54.880
But anyway, thanks for joining me.
00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:58.560
Um, hey, a quick announcement before we begin today.
00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:10.560
Uh this is the last day you can include a deceased picture of your loved one in our mosaic for the All Souls Mass this November 2nd.
00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.640
As you know, we've done it every year.
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:26.239
So the link to upload the picture and name of someone who died this past year that you'd like uh to pray for at the Mass, it's in the show notes, the link, as well as in the week ahead and our website.
00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:29.599
So just to let you know, the end of today is the deadline for that.
00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:30.879
Thank you for that.
00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.000
Okay, so our gospel today.
00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:40.879
Wow, they're trying to trap Jesus in a political controversy.
00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:51.359
You know, if he supports paying taxes to Caesar, he risks alienating the Jewish people who resent the Roman rule.
00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:58.400
But if he opposes the tax, he risks being accused of rebellion.
00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:04.400
Either way, they think they've trapped Jesus and they got him.
00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:06.799
One of those aha moments.
00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:07.760
Gotcha.
00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:11.680
But Jesus turns the table.
00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:17.520
Holding up a coin, he asks, Whose image is on it?
00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:21.199
Caesar's, they reply.
00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:26.879
Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:36.879
In other words, if Caesar's image is imprinted on it, then it's his.
00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:39.520
End of discussion.
00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:44.080
Except of course it's not the end.
00:02:44.879 --> 00:03:01.520
Because Jesus isn't really interested in talking about Caesar or coins, he's inviting us to consider something much deeper, something far more personal than that.
00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:06.319
This is the question I think he's really asking today.
00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:13.759
Whose image is imprinted upon your life?
00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:19.039
Who do you belong to?
00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:27.039
Scripture tells us that you were created in the image and likeness of God.
00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:44.159
Those beautiful words, you know, in Psalm 139 remind us that God knit you together in your mother's womb, that you are, it says, fearfully and wonderfully made.
00:03:45.120 --> 00:04:02.479
Before you ever accomplished anything, earned anything, or made a name for yourself, God had already placed his image upon you.
00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:05.759
Think about that.
00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:13.360
Before anyone knew your name, God knew you.
00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:26.480
His image was there from the beginning.
00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:46.079
And so if the coin belongs to Caesar because his image is on it, then surely we belong to God because we bear his image.
00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:49.680
Or should.
00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:59.360
I mean, isn't isn't that what we pray together every day in our normal prayer, our letting-go prayer after the prayer, closing prayer?
00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:04.879
You know, we pray together, To you do I belong, O God.
00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:10.720
Into your hands I surrender my life.
00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:12.000
And on.
00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:15.279
Such beautiful words.
00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:16.560
Of course I wrote them.
00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.959
So of course I think they are, but they are, you know?
00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.040
So here's the question.
00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.920
If you pray that, do you really mean it?
00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:38.480
Because when you think about it, we're pretty good at surrendering ourselves to all sorts of things.
00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:39.120
Right?
00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:44.240
We give our time, we surrender our time to work, to leisure.
00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:49.439
We surrender, we give our attention to responsibilities and worries.
00:05:49.600 --> 00:06:01.839
We give our energy to other people, we give our money to pay the bills, and by the end of the day, sometimes there's precious little left to give to God.
00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:09.920
I remember being on a parish mission not long ago talking about this very thing.
00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:27.920
And afterwards, a gentleman came up to me and said, You know, Father, I've been thinking as you were talking up there, in my life, I give more of my time every day to Netflix than I do to God.
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:32.639
I gotta change that, he said.
00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:41.680
And as he turned and kind of walked away, I thought to myself, oh do I.
00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:43.920
Oh my god.
00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:45.519
You know, it's easy to do.
00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:47.199
Have you seen East of Eden?
00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:48.480
It's really good.
00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:51.439
You know, we'll binge a show, no problem.
00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:56.399
But when's the last time you binged Jesus?
00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:02.319
Now, nothing wrong with Netflix or a good movie or show.
00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:06.079
Little relaxation at the end of a long day, not a worry.
00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:09.279
But it does raise a question, doesn't it?
00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:22.879
We say we belong to God, we pray that we belong to God, but does the way we live suggest the same thing?
00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:35.600
Not how much do I owe God, rather how much of my heart have I actually allowed God to have?
00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:41.759
Because here's what I love about God.
00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:47.920
One of the things, he doesn't simply want something from us.
00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.600
He wants us.
00:07:54.079 --> 00:08:00.160
Not just an hour on Sunday, you know, not just a few prayers squeezed into a busy day.
00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.480
He wants our hearts.
00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:12.079
He wants to be to be part of our joys and our sorrows, our decisions, struggles, our hopes, disappointment.
00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:22.240
He wants to be welcomed into the ordinary, everyday moments of this coin we call our life.
00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:31.680
Not because he's demanding his share, but because he's in love with us.
00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:37.120
And he wants us to fall in love with him.
00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:41.039
This beautiful, loving relationship.
00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.799
That's what he wants.
00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:47.600
That's what this whole business of faith is really all about.
00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:59.440
Not fulfilling obligations, but growing in a relationship of love with the one to whom we belong.
00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:04.720
And that brings me back to the coin.
00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.639
Remember the question Jesus asked in this gospel?
00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:11.919
Whose image is this?
00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:19.279
Well, maybe that's a good question for each of us to carry into this coming week.
00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:26.159
What image do people see when they look at my life?
00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:41.200
When they hear the words that come out of my mouth, when they see how I treat someone who irritates me, how I respond when things don't go my way, how I behave behind the wheel on the interstate.
00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.399
Do they see something of God?
00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:50.320
His patience, his compassion, right, his generosity?
00:09:50.559 --> 00:10:03.200
Is there something about the way I live that quietly tells the world this person belongs to God?
00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:14.879
I think maybe I'm safe to say that perhaps we can all do a bit better with that.
00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:20.320
It's like an old coin that's been sitting in a drawer for years.
00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:24.879
The image stamped upon it hasn't disappeared.
00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:29.360
It's just become tarnished and worn, difficult to see.
00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:41.200
But give it a little attention, give it a little care, a little polishing, and slowly the image begins to shine again.
00:10:42.159 --> 00:11:05.600
Well, friends, that's our invitation this week to shine, to do a little spiritual polishing, brush away some of the resentment we've been carrying, wipe away a little of that selfishness, to loosen our grip on something that's keeping us from him, to make a little more room for prayer, for kindness.
00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:08.559
So join me, we're gonna end here.
00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:09.840
Join me in this.
00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:20.559
Find a quarter, um, you know, uh 25 cents a quarter, or a euro, or a Rand, or whatever, a coin, or a few coins.
00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:25.759
And this week, keep them loose in your pocket.
00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:27.840
Just drop them in there.
00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:43.679
And then during the week, when you randomly reach into your pocket for your keys or lip gloss or breathman or whatever, and hear the coins jingle, let it remind you of all of this that we've been talking about.
00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:47.200
Grab one of the coins, take a second and look at it.
00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:53.600
And then remember the question Jesus asked: Whose image is this?
00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:57.919
Whose image is this?
00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.600
And then remember whose image is stamped upon you.
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:06.960
You are God's.
00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.240
Yours have been, always will be.
00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:23.840
And perhaps the most beautiful thing we can do with the life He's given us is to let the world see the one to whom we belong.
00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:26.879
Amen?
00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:28.639
I hope so.
00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:30.080
Thanks for being with me.
00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:33.440
God bless you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:34.240
Amen.
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.399
Have a beautiful day, friends, and we'll see you tomorrow for prayer.
