Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 

- Matthew 22:15-22 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the parable of the Wedding Feast, as He continued to respond to the religious authorities in the temple at Jerusalem.  He said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their own ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.  The Pharisees seek to entangle Jesus by asking a kind of trick question, which works as a trap.  If Jesus gave a "yes" answer it would turn the Jewish people against Him (as they suffer under the oppressive taxation of the Romans).  But a "no" answer would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But yet again, the Word Himself is the master of all communication.  His answer defeats their cunning, showing that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  More to the point, as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is more properly paid to him, each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises, my study Bible explains, when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  It notes also that the distinction between things that are Caesar's and things that are God's does not imply the division of a believer's life into the secular and the sacred.  Instead, we are to know that God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  However, we fulfill governmental requirements that don't conflict with our first responsibility to God (see also Acts 4:19, 4:29).  To pay taxes and fulfill similar civil duties is not detrimental to holiness.  

 

 In Christ's time, we know the demand that was there to overthrow the Romans.  Indeed, many looked to an image of the prophesied Messiah who would be a worldly king, establishing again a throne of Israel and overthrowing foreign rule, with a powerful kingdom which could conquer all enemies.  So the question is more powerfully relative to Jesus than we might at first think.  While the Pharisees seek to entrap Him -- either with the ruling Romans or with the people of Israel -- Jesus is also the Christ, and the nature of this Messiah is not the one anticipated nor possibly even "demanded" by the people in this political sense.  So the question about Roman taxes has not only religious but also politically revolutionary overtones.  We should also note that among those who come to quiz Jesus are both the disciples of the Pharisees, together with their allies the Herodians:  that is, those who support the dynasty of Herod the Great which rules for Rome.  We know that the people (stirred up by the religious leadership who wants rid of Jesus) will demand that Barabbas, a violent rebel, be freed instead of Jesus at His Crucifixion (Matthew 27:15-26), so again, we can't overlook how powerfully relevant these issues really are to Jesus and very nature of His messianic ministry -- and particularly the central role of His Passion.  It makes us reflect upon the nature of what it is for Him to be the Suffering Servant who was prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12).  While there are certainly injustices done by the Romans -- and much more to follow even to the Church -- Jesus makes us think hard about what forms of revolution or rebellion are really about.  How do we correct injustice and throw off oppressive rule?  Of course, at the time of Christ there had never been an empire quite like the Roman Empire and Constitutional rule of law was not something that existed in the forms we know today.  So national expectations of wealth from conquered territory (including in the form of slavery which was virtually universal) also played a role in the ways that people thought about violence and the change of rule.  But let us consider what Jesus seems to be teaching us.  First of all, there is the sense of civic duties that exist for us all, regardless of what type of government we have.  We tend to think very individualistically compared with perspectives in the Bible and the historical perspectives of peoples everywhere.  Christ's response frames this question in both a communal and individual framework.  Whose business is it to govern?  Who mints the coin, who rules trade and exchange?  But both communally and individually, what's our duty to God?  How is our soul loyal to God, and at the same time we have civic duty to function among the wider community?  While faith in Christ calls on us for a type of radical conversion (that is, the loyalty of heart and soul and mind and strength in our love of God), how does that work out in terms of our relationship to neighbor, to community?  The faith of Christ in this sense turns political revolution as solution to spiritual problems upside down:  everything begins with the soul, with an internal loyalty and radical commitment to love of God first coupled and enacted through love of neighbor.   This itself can create radical change within us as individuals, as so many have found in the experience of their faith, but it is a kind of internal transformation and revolution against the things that get in the way of our love of God and its realization in our lives.  It is an overthrow of loyalty to the purely worldly and material with a commitment to put faith first in God's love and how we live it.  In this understanding, our internal change or transformation is also a "rebellion" against the one whom Jesus calls the prince or ruler of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; Ephesians 2:2), the one who thrives on sin and all its forms including abuse and injustice and cruelty.  In this understanding, we might discern that abusive and oppressive rule is a product of sin, of "the evil one" (Matthew 5:37, 6:13).  We "render therefore to Caesar" practical and reasonable civic duty, but to render unto God what is God's demands of us no stone left unturned in an ongoing internal repentance, a commitment to knowing God and living as God's children that deepens as we mature and grow in faith.  This just might be the greatest power for transformation we can give to the world, for it goes to the real root of worldly problems.  Let us start there when we look for the change and good we desire.

 

 

 

 

 

Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?

 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. 

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

- Mark 15:1-11

Yesterday we read that as Peter was below in the courtyard of the high priest (while Jesus was on trial inside), one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."  And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.
 
 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.  Jesus is led to Pilate.  Notably, this is done in the morning, which indicates that His trial before the Sanhedrin took place through the night, another violation of the Jewish law.  But Pilate is the Roman governor, and under Roman occupation, it is not possible for the Sanhedrin to carry out the death penalty for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16).  Therefore, a sentence of death had to be issued by Pilate.  Blasphemy, however, is not a crime under Roman Law.  Therefore Pilate asks, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  It is possible to make political charges against Jesus, accusing Him of making Himself a worldly king, which is treasonous under the rule of Caesar.  My study bible tells us that the fact that Jesus answered nothing fulfills the prophesy of Isaiah 53:7 which portrays the Messiah being silent as He is led "as a sheep to the slaughter."

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent, and that He's being handed over because of envy.  (Whatever Pilate understands of the affairs of the Jews, he is a political man, and understands political manipulation and motivations.)  See also John 18:38, 19:4-6.  Pilate turns to the crowd for support, hoping they will ask for Jesus, my study bible says, in spite of the chief priests.  In another twist of the time, Barabbas means "son of the father."  So the crowds must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  The chief priests, by pushing the crowd to choose Barabbas, indicate they have made a choice to which father they belong (see John 8:44). 

 One of the ways in which we understand lies (and lying characterizes the devil or evil) is that lies come in half-truths.  In fact, according to a book about the Holy Spirit called The Giver of Life, by Fr. John W. Oliver, is that one strategy of "the evil one" is to whisper to us half-truths about ourselves.  These come in forms of feelings with messages like "you're worthless," or "you can't be forgiven," "you're a fraud," "no one likes you."  There might be something sort of true about them:  perhaps you've done something that wasn't up to a standard you'd like, or there are people who don't like you, or compared to Christ Himself you may feel your worth or authenticity is deeply wanting.  But none of these statements are in fact true (and the Holy Spirit, as Spirit of truth, is there to tell you so -- see John 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13).  Fr. Oliver writes of a man who suffered an extremely debilitating depression due to such thoughts, who finally realized what tone of voice seemed to be behind each one of them.  In today's reading, we have this tremendous example of half-truth.  That is, something that seems to be true, and seems to mirror truth, but is in fact delusion.  That is the name of Barabbas, meaning "son of the father," which misleads away from the true Son of the Father who stands before the crowd.  That same hatred that seems to work irrationally to stir stir the crowd gives a tone to this scene; it goes beyond whatever possible crime Jesus may or may not have committed.  It tells us something about the time and about what is going on here.  An irrational hatred and loathing is a sign of something amiss, a time gone awry, where our own emotions or those put on view can't necessarily be trusted.  It's a time of danger, in which people can be stirred to all kinds of conclusions and false persecutions, a time for withdrawal into prayer for wisdom to prevail.  This works on the deepest and most personal private levels within us, and we can also see it at work in scenes like this one.  That Barabbas is a political man, so to speak, also tells us about our preferences for expediency and manipulation over the sometimes subtle and quite difficult work of spiritual discernment, requiring patience and a kind of strength that prevails despite whatever is swaying us one way and another.  But that is the kind of strength one needs to fight depression, or the times when everybody else seems to losing their heads.  We're always going to be up against half-truths in one form or another.  Any form of addiction is going to give us persuasive feelings about what seems like a good idea, and there are myriad other ways in which we're tempted and snared to find something that sounds good and quick and expedient, but isn't going to work out so well for us.  Wisdom is a tough road, a long haul.  It needs patience and humility and forbearance.  But we've got to remember the half-truths, and that sticking with the long haul and the complexity and depth of wisdom -- and the time it takes for discernment, even living with uncertainty -- is the fastest and most efficient route after all.

Are You the King of the Jews?

 Now Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered Him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" 

- Matthew 27:11-23

It is Holy Week in our current reading, and Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He has been betrayed by Judas, arrested, and convicted by the council in a night trial.  Peter has denied Christ three times in the courtyard of the high priest.  In yesterday's reading, we were told that when morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.  And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."  And they said, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"  Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.  But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood."  And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

 Now Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered Him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.   The chief priests and elders can't bring a blasphemy charge to Pilate, although that's the charge by which they've convicted Christ in the Council (that Christ called Himself equal to God).  Instead, they must bring a charge to Pilate which would carry the death penalty, and it is of calling Himself the King of the Jews.  For the Romans, that could bring a charge of treason.  That is, it's a challenge to Roman rule, and the penalty is execution.  Jesus doesn't respond to defend Himself; perhaps there is no point here for preaching or teaching, and His acceptance of the way forward is already complete. 

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"   What is the irony here that we are witness to, that is playing out in Jesus' life?   This is a day of mercy:  a feast day upon which one prisoner may be released.  Jesus' innocence and dignity as a person is so obvious that Pilate understands something is wrong.  He's perceptive enough to see that the religious leadership has handed Him over because of envy.  The first thing Pilate does is ask the crowd if they'd like Jesus who is called Christ to be freed to them.   He is the stand-out, the One who is different among the prisoners.  Another irony comes in the glimmer of  wisdom given in a dream.  It reminds us of the dreams given early in the Gospel which influence the events of Jesus' life, such as when Joseph is told in a dream not to fear but to take pregnant Mary as his wife, or when both Joseph and the Wise Men are warned by dreams.   Here the wife of Pilate has also been warned about mistreatment of that just Man by a dream, and this message is conveyed to Pilate.  Pilate sits on the judgment seat -- as man who knows the truth but is caught between the crowds and the leadership.  He judges the One who is true Judge of all.  And there's another huge central irony here as well:  the name Barabbas means "son of the father."  The crowds, says my study bible, must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  But the chief priests and elders have already swayed the crowd to follow the son of the  "father" they choose (see John 8:44).  

The ironies here are many.  They're "lost chances" for mercy, for grace.  Who is the Son of the Father?  What's true, and what's a lie?  Warnings come by dreams even to the wife of Pilate -- a pagan woman who's touched in some way by grace.  Pilate knows Jesus is a just man; it's clear to him, one experienced in the politics of power and ambition in this greatest of empires, that Jesus is handed over simply because of envy.  Those who wish to take Him down don't wish for anything but his death.  Ultimately, despite the many opportunities for mercy, the decision comes down to the crowd.  This is the same Jerusalem whose crowds a week before welcome Jesus as King, as Messiah.  But this particular crowd has been stirred by the leadership.  And here one must really consider the word "leadership" and what it means.  Is Christ a leader?  Are these men leaders?  If our leadership isn't based in truth then where is it going, and what does it serve?  This story makes that pretty clear.  It doesn't matter how great the institution and its founding ideas, doesn't seem to make any difference who our ancestors were.  Here and now, where do we stand, and how are we led?  The truth seeks  a way to get through; there are glimmers of light in this story.  The dignity of Christ tells a story in and of itself, the dream given in warning, the clear understanding of Pilate of Jesus' innocence, and the crowds who still have this choice for the One who's given them the truth.  Everything seems to come down to what we choose and what is in our heart.  Who sits in the Judgment Seat for all?  Does the Truth get a word in here?  Maybe what makes a true leader is simply staying in that place above all else, even standing in silence when there is no one who can hear.

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

- Luke 20:19-26

In Monday's reading, we were told that Jesus began to tell the people this parable (in the presence of the chief priest, scribes, and elders who had questioned His authority in the temple):  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:      'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.     This question from the false "spies" (the people who pretend to be righteous) is a trap for Jesus:  a "yes" answer will turn the people against Him, and a "no" answer would bring a charge of treason by the Romans  So what we see here is yet another example of Jesus' wit, His mental strength and integrity, and His fully present engagement with truth:  He won't fall for the trap.  What He expresses, says my study bible, is the teaching that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (see Romans 13:1-7).  The coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him; in the same way each person bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  My study bible suggests that conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

We once again observe the true "toughness" of this Man who also embodies the Beatitudes (see commentary for the reading of Friday, June 12, 2015:  He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!").  Jesus, as Messiah, comes into the city as a meek and humble Man, not with chariots and armies, not to force anyone into anything, but with love:  embodying the Beatitudes He mourns over the city, He remains the ultimate peacemaker, and He will be persecuted for righteousness' (or justice's) sake.  That this Man retains an inner strength and integrity beyond all persuasion and entrapment, beyond the punishment He will take at the hands of those who envy Him, is something we must couple with and is an integral part of the meaning and fullness of the Beatitudes (as preached in Matthew 5).  It's in our humility that we remain firm as "sons of God" -- that is, those who inherit the Kingdom, and in this sense, we are each, both male and female, "sons."  I would suggest that remaining true to the Beatitudes is the one way we can be certain that we remain "on point," that is, in our integrity as followers of Christ.  It's the way we remain certain of our intention of service to God, firm in our integrity to righteousness, to justice, or "right-relatedness" as we might put it.  The Beatitudes teach us to be poor in spirit (or humble), to accept that we must mourn, to be meek, that we must hunger and thirst for righteousness, that we are to be  merciful, to be pure in heart, to try to be peacemakers (and here we remember where our peace truly is, in the One who reconciles in truth), and to accept the times when we are persecuted for righteousness' sake.  What's not easy to see in this list of traits of those who are "blessed" is the kind of strength that all of this implies, the internal integrity, the solid reality of what it means to truly be rooted in the faith He calls us to.  In worldly terms, it seems like a paradox.  But it's not, really -- it is a firm and strong statement of what it is to live the life of the Kingdom even in this world that also a place of darkness.  Christ embodies these teachings, as we reported in the earlier reading that Origen observed in Jesus' weeping and mourning over Jerusalem.   This Suffering Servant, our humble Messiah, is a man of infinite internal strength, a character that doesn't yield from truth and righteousness, that remains true to His mission.  Here in today's reading, He easily defeats an attempt to trap Him, and He does so -- once again -- by asserting an important teaching for all of us.  We don't expect "the world" to be a perfect place, but it must function with systems that work for all of us.  We can honor our obligations to what is best for the whole -- even if worldly -- while our internal integrity is rooted in our faith and where it takes us.  This is the way we serve righteousness, and it's the way to walk through whatever darkness also exists in the world.  It's His Way. There are those in this world who would insist that justice means tearing everything down in a spirit of nihilistic "purity" and abstraction, no matter how many people suffer.  So often these boil down to ideologies that are another form of harsh legalism (no matter what one may call it or where it's oriented).  But such efforts are missing the love that is at the heart of the gospel, and in which true righteousness and justice are rooted.  That's not at all what He teaches us here, and His heart is with all the people -- not the leaders, and not the demagogues who in the end demand only their own purely "worldly" power.  We remember the Beatitudes, to keep us rooted in His Way, the true gospel of love and righteousness.