Tuesday of Week 9 – 2 Pet 3:12-15,17-18; Mark 12:13-17
What does the “hope his call holds for us” have to do with a Roman coin?
At first, it seems like Saint Paul’s hymn and the Pharisees’ question about taxes are worlds apart. But really, they echo the same old tension:
Are we chasing a heaven on earth of our own making, or are we waiting in faith for the new heaven and new earth Jesus promised?
Some, even today, might think: “If we just change the system—stop paying, stop obeying—we’ll finally see the start of the messianic times.”
But Jesus’ answer cuts through that illusion:
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.”
In other words, it’s not really about the tax.
The real issue is this: are we living “without spot or stain, so that he will find [us] at peace”?
Who’s wrong? Who’s dreaming?
It’s always easier to accuse the other side. But if we stare only at the horizon of some imagined future, we might miss what’s under our feet—where God is already at work.
Knowing Jesus isn’t about cloud-chasing.
He opens “the eyes of our hearts” so we can hope in the new heaven, and see more clearly here and now.
Above all, we trust this: the story of the world does not end with Caesar’s coin.
When hope in Christ dies, only despair is left.
