A sermon on Matthew 22:15-21
By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
HCP columnist
The Pharisees tried to entrap Jesus with the question, "Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" (Matthew 22:17.)
If Jesus says "no," the Romans could arrest Him for insurrection. If Jesus says "yes," the Pharisees would accuse Him of idolatry, since the coin has an inscription that says Caesar is a god. Jesus wisely avoids the trap by saying, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God the things that belong to God." (Matthew 22:21.)
This raises the question, "What are those things that belong to God?"
One important thing that God gives us is His goodness. The very nature of God is to find joy in the happiness of His people. God says in Psalm 34:8, “O, taste and see that the Lord is good."
This is easy to believe when things are going well. It is hard to believe when you suffer. As a Chaplain at Children's Hospital, I see suffering everywhere. Children who should be enjoying life are fighting for their life. God has the power to do whatever He likes. Why does He allow good people to suffer pain, illness, and disease? How do broken bodies and broken hearts fit into our belief that God is good?
Many ask the question "why?" But it's the wrong question to ask.
The "why" may never be answered in this life. The right question to ask God is "what?"
"You see God what I suffer. What will you do to help me?"
The Bible has many passages that proclaim God is intimately involved in the crosses you bear.
“The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18.)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.” (2 Cor. 1: 3-4.)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. (Isaiah 41:10.)
These are just a few of the many Bible passages where God offers hope, strength and comfort to His people who are hurting. I believe what God says, but I have a lingering question on how does He show His presence, how does He give comfort, how does God give me strength? How does God show not just with words but with deeds that He is close to the broken-hearted?
I found the answer from Mr. Rogers, who hosted a children's show called "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" for 33 years from 1968-2001. When he was a young man, he saw things on the TV news shows that upset him. Suffering people caused him sadness.
His mother, Nancy Rogers, taught him an important life lesson. His mother would tell him: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
She taught him that in moments of sickness, there are people working as helpers to protect, comfort, and restore hope. As a Presbyterian minister, he used this lesson from his mother, "look for the helpers", to alleviate the pain of those who hurt. This is how we offer God's goodness back to Him.
God makes His presence real, His comfort visible, His strength powerful through the helpers God brings into your life when you need Him the most. God uses the helpers to transform His words into deeds. I see God's Divine presence through those who help you carry the cross you bear. God dries the tears of anyone who cries through the love of the helpers He brings.
The song "God of the Mountain" has these beautiful lyrics:
For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley
When things go wrong, He'll make them right
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day, is still God in the night.
Fr. Mike Paraniuk is a Priest Chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. His sermons can be heard live over WLRU Radio 106.9 FM on Mondays at 7 p.m.