A repeated theme in the gospels is riddles. Both people trying to trick Jesus with riddles and Jesus teaching or answering back with riddles. And in this week’s lectionary passage (Mt 22:15-22), Jesus is using a sort of riddle. He says, “Give to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor and give to God what belongs to God.” But really, what doesn’t belong to God? In a roundabout way, Jesus is saying—everything belongs to God, so make everything available for God to use.
When we ponder this, we generally think of resources and talents. But have you ever thought that God wants to use your failures? I have seen in my own life, and in the lives of several people close to me, that our failures are among our greatest gifts to others and to God.
Take my friend Brother Martin Gonzales, who died in 2021. During his 60s, after he’d been a monk for decades, he was called into the office of the abbot. This followed an annual Fourth of July celebration where the monks shared a picnic and ball game, and where beer tended to flow. It was also where Martin tended to imbibe to the point of black out. After the picnic on this fateful Fourth of July, his over-drinking could no longer be tolerated. The abbot informed Martin that he was either heading to a residential program for alcohol rehab or leaving the monastery after forty-some years. This news devastated Martin. Not only was he in denial of his drinking, but he was deeply attached to his popular image. Martin thought entering a treatment program would ruin him—his reputation, his life. For a time, he thought death would be preferable. But something happened instead…. {Read remainder of article on Patheos HERE.}