"The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." Jesus gives us a simple moral principle in today's Gospel. He speaks about two kinds of love: love of God and love of neighbor. He tells us that all the other laws and teachings of our faith fall under these two headings. So if we can master these, we will be in good spiritual shape!

"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." The Pharisees, full of malice, were trying to "entrap Jesus in speech." They concocted a question that flattered him, saying, "You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth," but which also put him in a position to be in big trouble if he challenged the Roman laws. Jesus, of course, escaped the trap with his brilliant reply. We can appreciate the wisdom of his response, but more importantly, we can appreciate what it means for us. To repay to Caesar, in this case, meant to give appropriate allegiance to the secular authorities. We too are under such authority, and although Uncle Sam is different than Caesar in countless ways, the fact remains that as constituents of this country who enjoy its many benefits, we are also called to extend a certain kind of tribute to our government.

"Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." The chief priests and elders listening to Jesus must have been furious. After telling the parable about the tenants who abused the owner's property and killed his son, Jesus had a tough lesson to teach. He compared the Jewish leaders to these terrible tenants. They, like the selfish workers in the vineyard, were guilty of not respecting proper authority and of trying to seize control--not of grapes, in this case, but of religious matters. In short, they were not bearing fruit for God's kingdom, but only for their own prestige and privilege.

In the middle of winter, when life seems to be frozen and gone, the church asks us to pray. On the anniversary of the Supreme Court case titled Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion, we are called to pray in a special way for the protection of the unborn, in a very real way the very image of the helpless. We know winter causes life to slow down, but we are a people of faith and believe that life, in all its wonder, is worthy of our protection. Perhaps giving of your time or money to a local adoption agency is a way you may protect an unborn child. We need to let people know there are more options and that abortion is never considered as an option.