The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends in Christ,

"Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Ceasar's; and to God, the things that are God's" (St. Matthew 22, 21).

Commenting on this verse, Origen says: "We learn here, from the example of Our Savior, that we ought not, on the grounds of piety, pay heed to things that are spoken of by the many, and which therefore may appear remarkable; but rather to the things said in a manner that accords with reason. We may also understand these words figuratively; that we are to give certain things to the body, a tribute to Ceasar as it were; that is, necessary things. But the things that relate to the nature of our souls; that is, those that lead to virtue, these we should offer to God."

"They therefore who teach the law of God, beyond due measure, and tell us we are to take no thought for the things due to the body, are the Pharisees who forbade that tribute be given to Caesar; that is, forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats, which God has created. (I Tim. 4, 3). They, however, who think we should indulge the body above what is needful, are the Herodians. But it is the will of Our Savior that virtue should not be endangered by ministering to the body beyond due measure; and that at the same time our bodily nature should not be over-wearied by immoderate straining after virtue."

"Or the prince of this world, that is, the devil is called Caesar; for we cannot render to God the things that are God's unless we have first rendered to this prince the things that are his; that is, until we have first put away all malice. And from this present passage of Scripture, we learn this also; that in the face of those who tempt us, we should neither be wholly silent nor yet answer simply but circumspectly, that we may cut off all contact with those who seek a pretext against us; that we may teach blamelessly the things that can save those who wish to be saved."

There is a constant struggle in this life that we must balance between our bodies and souls. The devils succeed no matter which way we become off balance. If we favor the body too much, the devils get us. If we are inclined to abuse the body under the pretext of tending the soul, the devils get us again. Virtue is in the middle.

Our bodies are not evil, and we are not commanded to hate our bodies. All that God has made is good. And God has made everything, both the visible and the invisible. The life of our bodies belongs to God, we sin and offend God when we harm or even endanger our physical lives. God forbids us to take the life of anyone — ourselves or others. We must take reasonable care of our physical needs, bodies, and societies here on earth. It is a false spirituality that inclines us to harm the life that God has given us.

On the other extreme, which is perhaps more common, we must strive to avoid overindulging the flesh and its concupiscence. It appears to be easier to forget or ignore the health of our souls because we cannot physically see them. The needs of the body quickly transform into the wants of the body. These bodily desires for pleasure and self-indulgence become increasingly insatiable the more we give in to them. Self-indulgence soon forgets about the soul or the needs of our souls.

We tend to disassociate God from the world and our physical lives. This may be our biggest mistake. God is the Creator of everything. He is the God of everything. He watches over our souls and our bodies. He gives us all that we need for our physical lives as well as all that we need for our spiritual lives. Our bodies and our souls are meant to complement and complete one another. They are not in competition with each other. The devils incline us to see an either-or relationship between our spiritual and physical lives.

All authority comes from God, and we should honor and respect all authority placed over us. Those in power may sin and abuse the position God has given them, and we may resist any illegal or immoral command, but we must honor that authority because it is from God. When we bow our heads in obedience to secular or spiritual authority, we bow before God. It is God whom we submit to and obey when we submit or follow the rule He has placed over us. We must pay our secular taxes and our spiritual tithes. To do one and not the other places us under the influence of evil spirits. The Pharisees and the Herodians were wrong because they each took opposing extremes. We only serve God when we care for both our bodies and our souls.

email: father@friarsminor.org Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?

Would you like to make a donation?

Or, just log onto PayPal.com, after signing in you can send your donation to us at: Friars@friarsminor.org .

Blog with audio downloads

Return to Menu.

Return to Homepage.