Hot Mommas

Seeing how we are created in God’s image

06/01/2021

Mark 12:13-17 Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.

Have you ever noticed how we all have an image of ourselves in our minds that does not always correspond closely to reality? And what we choose to see and hear reinforces that reality. Let me give you an example. An 84 year-old man went to the doctor for a physical. A few days later the doctor saw him walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm. The next time the doctor saw him he asked how he was doing. The old guy said: “Great! I just did what you told me, ‘Get a hot momma and be cheerful!’” The doctor said, “I did not say that. I said ‘You’ve got a heart murmur. Be careful!’” The image we have of ourselves in our head rarely corresponds to the image of ourselves in reality.

In the gospel today, Jesus also talks about two images: the image of Caesar and the image of God. The Pharisees and Herodians ask about paying the census tax to Caesar. Of course, it was not an innocent question to ease their consciences about paying taxes to Caesar, but a trap to ensnare Jesus and have a reason to kill him. But Jesus uses the occasion to teach them about two images. The coin used to pay the tax carried the image of Caesar, so it belongs to Caesar, so give it back to him. In other words, pay the census tax.

But then Jesus points to another image – a deeper image, a divine image – namely, the image of God. In Gn 1:27 we learn that each person is created in “the image and likeness of God,” including the great Caesar. So, give to God what bear his image, that is, ourselves. And even Caesar belongs to God and owes to God his very being and existence.

It is funny how the Roman Caesars believed they were gods and wanted everyone in the Empire to worship them, like the 84 year-old believed the doctor said, “Get a hot momma and be cheerful.” The image in their heads did not relate to the one in reality. Jesus reminds them it is better to belong to God as his precious children than try to pretend you are god by building big monuments to yourself. Being a child of God is our true image.

My dear Ladies Auxiliary, it is so great to have you back at Mass and meeting weekly. Are you happy to be back and see each other in person? You haven’t changed a bit and look even younger than you did a year ago! Of course, we know we are all getting older, except for me, when I shaved my beard and I became 20 years younger. One of the many things I love about our Ladies Auxiliary is how you try to make the image of yourself in your head correspond to the image of you in reality, that is, you try to live as a daughter of God.

Some of the ways you have lived up to the image of God in you is how you support our priests. Thank you for the very generous gift to help me buy a new computer and monitor – my old eyes thank you, too! And thank you for the Masses offered for our newly ordained priest from our parish, Fr. Omar. Of course, you do so much more besides that, like bringing me and Fr. Daniel and Dc. Daniel Wendel meals every Tuesday, and paying for church supplies and other projects I request your help with.

In all these cases, like in the gospel, the crucial thing is not about whose image is on the coin (whose name is on the check), but whose image is on our soul, namely, God’s image. In other words, how we handle money demonstrates whether the image of ourselves in our heads corresponds very closely to the image of ourselves in reality. Are we really acting like a child of God?

Do you know whose image is on a one dollar bill, a five dollar bill, a ten dollar bill, a twenty dollar bill, a fifty dollar bill, and a hundred dollar bill? They are: George Washington (on the $1), Abraham Lincoln (on the $5), Alexander Hamilton (on the $10), Andrew Jackson (on the $20), Ulysses S. Grant (on the $50), and Benjamin Franklin (on the $100). But do you know whose image is on the soul of each of those great men? It is the image of God. Today, as they stand before God, face to Face in heaven, they know which image matters more. And now, finally, the image of themselves in their heads corresponds perfectly to their image in reality. Each man is cheerful and not one of them has a hot momma on his arm.

Praised be Jesus Christ!