What is Caesar’s? What is God’s?
This week’s gospel story is a challenging one. It is hard, at times, to decipher what is asked of us as Catholics, and what is asked of us as citizens. It is easy to think that our political power lies in our ability to vote, and then our work is finished. In the United States, we believe in the separation of church and state, but we see those things mixed all the time.
Where do you see church and state separated? Where do you see crossover?
God calls us to be faithful, global citizens daily. What does that look like? Where do we start? Catholic Social Teaching always helps me remember what it could look like to be a faithful global citizen. One value of CST is preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, meaning that any political decision that is made should ask first, “How will this affect the most vulnerable people in our society?”
Who are the most vulnerable people in your community? What policy changes could help them reach their full potential as human beings?
The UN Millennium Goals are also helpful to identify some of the most pervasive brokenness in the world today and move toward solutions that celebrate all people. They are goals that call all global citizens to action.
Which Millennium Goal are you most drawn to? What work is required to achieve this goal?
Trends are showing that all over the world as well as in the United States, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. It is now more than ever that we as Catholics need to claim our faithful citizenship and work so that God’s will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Stephen Colbert is a famous comedian and television star, but he is also a practicing Catholic and Sunday school teacher. We can hear Catholic Social Teaching behind his urgency here:
If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus is just as selfish as we are or we’ve got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition. And then admit that we just don’t want to do it.
Let’s take this as a challenge. Jesus’ message to advocate for the vulnerable is clear. The Catholic Church’s call to work to end poverty and injustice is laid out. Claiming our global citizenship means moving our faith toward action.