The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus in his words. Asked about paying taxes, our Lord simply said: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God, the things that are God’s.” Our hearts were cleansed and restored by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Let us liberally render our hearts to God!
There will be infinite reason to celebrate on the Last Day. Death will have been swallowed up forever. On God’s mountain we’ll celebrate with fine meat and aged wine. We will rejoice in God’s salvation.
We are to consider ourselves as simple tenants of God’s church. We are to relate to one another in love and humility. The Lord Jesus alone is the head of the church.
Paul writes from Prison. He humbly accepted his plight. He urges the Christians in Philippi to walk humbly, in peace with one another. Paul felt that if they did that, he did not live in vain!
Some people spend their whole life trying to figure out God. He is above all human understanding. All three readings for today point to this fact: God’s thoughts are higher than ours. Paul’s imprisonment turns out to be good!
The church in Rome had many problems. One of the more annoying ones was the people quarreled over opinions. Paul advises them to live and let live. We are all accountable to God. None of us is greater than another. Under Christ, we live in harmony.