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<b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Friends,
<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b> in today’s Gospel, Jesus escapes from a trap with one of his most 
famous one-liners: “Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God 
what belongs to God.” </b></span></span></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b><span style="color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="background-color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">We should not read this as though there is a 
clearly demarcated political realm that belongs to the Caesars of the 
world and a clearly demarcated spiritual realm that belongs
to God. And</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>we certainly <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">shouldn’t read it </span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">in the modern mode—that the 
public arena belongs to politics, while religion is relegated to the 
private dimension.</span></b></span></span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">No,
 this won’t do, precisely <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>because God is God. He’s not </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>a being in or 
above the world, nor one reality among many</b></span>. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>God is the sheer act of 
being itself, which necessarily pervades, influences, grounds, and has 
to do with everything, even as he transcends </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>everything i<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">n creation.</span></b></span></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br></b></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>God
 is the deepest source for<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"> everything in life, </span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>from sports to law to the
 arts to science to medicine. </b></span>What has seized the lawyer (at his best) 
is a deep passion for justice—and <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>God is justice itself.</b></span> What has seized
 the doctor (at his best) is a deep passion for alleviating 
suffering—and <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>God is love itself</b></span>. <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>Everything</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>comes from God and returns 
to God.</b></span></span></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b>

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