TUESDAY JUNE 4, 2024
NINETH WEEK IN THE ORDINARY TIME B
2 Peter 3:12- 15a.17-18
Mark 12:13-17
LIVING ABOVE HUMAN DECEPTION AND BEYOND WORLDLY ENCUMBRANCES
A greater majority of human beings even in the church are still stock in the dilemma of differentiating between the essence and the accidents of life. Again, the deceptive nature of man, whose facial appearances and honey coated words cannot be discerned easily to know their real intentions most times camouflaging as truthful, honest and sincere but later turns out to be the very opposite of what our initially perceptions are.
There is so much deception in man that it seems that truthfulness and honesty becomes a vice rather than virtue. The event of the gospel of today is one out of millions that shows the deceptive minds of man.
Coming to Jesus, the Pharisees and Herodians, came like lambs, innocent and sincere people who had come to learn or know the truth , with their flowery, and emotionally ridden words, pretending to be seeking the truth but their deceptive attitude was already dictated by Jesus.
They came to trap Jesus, to put him either at loggerhead with the Roman authorities or with the Jewish people. Their intentions were quite wicked, devilish and inciting. We can never know the intentions of people from their facial or verbal constructions.
Deception of man is everywhere and we must be careful with all people. Trust is a thing reserved for God alone. And prayer with trustful discernment is one reserved and given to human beings to avoid being hurt so badly.
That aside, we must look deeply into the words of Jesus who cautions us in those words of wisdom, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s..” And this is the battle we face everyday, how to discern adequately and attend properly what actually belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God. This equally is a discernment we must make on daily basis in order not to be trapped into evil.
Clarifying this for us, what belongs to Caesar is secondary and what belongs to God is ultimate and primary in our lives. Going further, Jesus X-rays for us what actually belongs to God , which is love of God with all our hearts, soul and mind. Meaning that God comes first in all we do.
Therefore paying tax to Caesar is only secondary. Have you done your duty to God? That is primary and even in doing your duty or paying tax to Caesar there is need to do such with the right disposition and intentions.
So aside the need to avoid the antics and deception of human beings who may incite us, cajole us, intimidate us or even force us against our will, or manipulate our intelligence there is need to be guarded always so that we may not become prey to people’s desires and caprices, and be unnecessary hurt by them.
Secondly, we must be able to draw the line between our allegiance to God and our allegiance to human and worldly encumbrances. We must not allow our appetites, longings, yearnings, desires to encroach or infringe on our devotion and responsibilities towards our God who must stand supreme in all our actions and intentions.
And of course, as much as there is a thin line to demarcate these two, our allegiance to God and the attraction of the world, we must be humble, careful and always attentive to the things of God before human or worldly things.
Heavenly Father, we are confronted in life with making choices. Help us to always stand with you, do you will, walk in your ways and never allow our appetite, human deception and desires of our hearts to derail our loyalty and devotion to you. Bless us with the gift of discernment, forthrightness and devotion to your ways. Protect us from the deception of men and their antics and never allow us become sources of deception, sorrow and evil to people through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
