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00:00Music
00:29Let us now turn to these last two pastoral elements which I think can be of great use to our Christian life.
00:38I would like to discuss with you the importance of respect for civil authority, which is a very important element.
00:45So today we think that because we are Christians we don't have to attend to civil matters.
00:52And this sometimes gives the impression that we can easily, as we say, jump over the fences or do things as we see fit.
01:04And on this matter there is also a very objective clarity that both Paul and our Lord in the Holy Scriptures have wanted to provide us on the subject of respect for civil authority.
01:16Okay, so let's now go to the quote on this topic of authority; we'll find it in this text from Titus, chapter 3, verse 1.
01:27We read the text that says to remind others to submit to the government and authorities, to be obedient, and to always be willing to do good.
01:38We see here a clear indication on the subject of authority and the need for the Christian to also submit to all civil laws.
01:50In this sense, I would like us to look at some elements that are clear both in the gospel of Jesus and in the different letters we have.
02:01In this regard, I would like you to go to the text of Luke 20-25 where Jesus clearly says the following.
02:11Give to the emperor what is the emperor's, and to God what is God's.
02:16In other words, everyone has to respect the areas, right?
02:23So, what do we have to give the emperor?
02:25Lord, you will recall, if we go back a little further, if we read from verse 21, it says,
02:36This is what they asked him, speaking of the Pharisees: "Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is correct and that you do not seek to please men; you truly teach the way of God."
02:48Jesus, is it right for us to pay taxes to the Roman emperor or not?
02:54Jesus, realizing their evil intentions, said to them, "Show me a denarius coin."
03:02Whose face and name are written here?
03:06They answered, from the emperor.
03:10Jesus said to them, "Give to the emperor what is the emperor's, and to God what is God's."
03:16With this teaching, he is talking to us about this division of fields, isn't he?
03:23In other words, what do we owe Caesar?
03:26Well, what belongs to Caesar must be paid in taxes.
03:28In other words, taxes are what fund the construction of avenues, what sustain the electricity, and the government.
03:35In short, there are a number of expenses that, unfortunately, not all of our taxes cover, especially in our Latin American countries.
03:45We must recognize that it is true that not all of our taxes go to where they should go.
03:51Unfortunately, corruption is undermining all of this, but this doesn't mean that at some point I shouldn't take justice into my own hands.
04:01and say, well, since our taxes are not being used properly, then I'm going to pay them.
04:07That is not biblically acceptable.
04:11We need to, through the different bodies within our governments,
04:15We have to push to put an end to the issue of corruption.
04:20and that all the money that comes into the public treasury is used appropriately.
04:25But we do not have the capacity, or we should not, to take justice into our own hands.
04:32The conversion of our civil authorities is a very important issue.
04:37The extent to which they can enter a conversion process,
04:41Well, certainly the corruption processes will come to an end.
04:44Hence the importance for us of evangelizing, not only those closest to us,
04:51but rather to look at the different ways in which we can reach the civil authority.
04:56so that she, once converted, can properly do justice with the income.
05:02But Jesus is clear: give to Caesar what is Caesar's.
05:06So, do we have to pay taxes, teacher?
05:08Yes, you do have to pay taxes.
05:11Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto the government the things that are the government's.
05:13And well, give to God what is God's, that is, to God the prayer, the praise, etc.
05:19As we will see in a moment, this also includes the issue of justice in the economic sphere.
05:25It has to do with our activities or our Christian participation
05:30within the ordinary life of the church.
05:33Saint Paul reminds us that authorities have been established by God.
05:39It says in Romans 13, if you'd like to join us, Romans chapter 13, the first three verses,
05:45It says the following.
05:46Everyone must submit to those in authority, because there is no authority that...
05:53not from God, and those that exist were put in place by him.
05:57Therefore, whoever opposes authority goes against what God has commanded, and the
06:02Those who oppose will be punished.
06:04Therefore, the instruction of St. Paul in this letter to the Romans is also clear here,
06:11which confirms what we are saying here in this text by Titus.
06:16In other words, as you can see, we can find themes throughout the entire writing process.
06:21And we will find the great consistency that exists in all of them.
06:25We have taken a text from the Gospel, in this case from Luke, although it also has its parallel.
06:30In Mark, we could find this other text; we have seen this text from Romans,
06:35that are very similar or that follow the same thematic line as what we are seeing right now
06:40of this chapter 3 of Titus.
06:43In other words, one has to obey authority, and if we don't obey it, we will have to suffer.
06:50the consequences.
06:52All laws, everything our governments develop, are made for the benefit of others.
06:59or they must be made for the benefit of all citizens.
07:04Saint Thomas, in fact, in this text, using both the text of Romans and the text of Titus,
07:11In short, it says that we are not obligated to obey their authorities or the laws they create.
07:19by them when they are contrary to the Gospel, or when they present a flagrant injustice
07:27for the citizens.
07:28So, in this case, we are no longer obligated to obey them.
07:34In good conscience, the word of God obliges us to obey them, but only as long as all these
07:41They are developed for the benefit of society and have been, as Saint Thomas himself clarifies,
07:49have been developed by the legitimately constituted government, that is, that it was a government
08:00who have been elected by the citizens, in such a way that the law expresses what the citizens
08:06They are searching and developing within the legal limits of society.
08:13So, we have this very clear instruction in this text from Romans, where it says
08:20And whoever disobeys them will be punished by the same authority.
08:26On the other hand, regarding this same topic of taxes, as I mentioned a moment ago, we also have
08:32a topic that has to do with government, but ecclesiastical government.
08:36The church, as the Lord has decided, has also been formed throughout
08:44of the centuries also in a society that has a series of rules.
08:49We talk about the laws of the church, and within these church laws we also need
08:55We maintain clear compliance.
08:59This, therefore, does not only belong to us, but has been present since the Old Testament.
09:05Well, it certainly appears in the Old Testament that civil law and ecclesiastical law would be
09:12The same, because it was a theocratic people, that is, a people ruled by God in
09:18where the rules and society, therefore, were governed by the same law.
09:23With the arrival of the Romans and, well, the development of societies and this separation
09:28that occurs between civil society and religious or ecclesiastical society,
09:34We also have to pay attention to the rules that have to do with the regime
09:44from the authority of our church.
09:47And in this sense we find in Matthew, in chapter 17, in verses 24 and following,
09:53Here's what happened: when Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the people collecting the
10:00They went to Peter and asked him, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"
10:06for the temple?
10:07And Peter replied, yes, he pays it.
10:10Then, when Peter entered the house, Jesus said to him, “What do you think, Simon, about those who collect taxes?”
10:19And what contributions do the kings of this world make, to their own subjects or to foreigners?
10:25Peter answered, to the foreigners.
10:28Jesus added, well, the subjects themselves don't have to pay anything, but so as not to be a stumbling block
10:35Nobody, go to the lake, throw it on the ground and catch the first fish that bites.
10:41In his mouth you will find a coin that will be enough to pay my tax and yours.
10:47Take it and pay for it.
10:49So we see that Jesus does not oppose it; on the contrary, he seeks that all the
10:57laws of our church.
10:59All laws are established by God, both ecclesiastical and civil laws.
11:06and all of them must be fully complied with, since they are all the ones that serve to
11:13to maintain order within ecclesiastical or civil society and to be able to walk in an orderly manner.
11:20The last text I would like to comment on, from this text we were reading, from the
11:28The Letter to the Romans tells us precisely about not having any debt to anyone.
11:35In other words, we must fully obey both civil and religious authority.
11:42Within that framework, then, the authority we have in our schools, if we are in a
11:46school, the authority in our homes, the authority in companies, etc.
11:51Everywhere we go we have these disciplinary rules that we have to follow and we have to
11:58achieve.
11:59See what Romans, chapter 13, tells us, the verses preceding the one we read,
12:05in verse 7.
12:07It says, give each one what is due to him.
12:10Those who owe taxes, pay the taxes.
12:14Those who owe taxes, pay taxes.
12:18Respect those who deserve respect.
12:21To those who deserve esteem, give esteem.
12:24Have no debts to anyone, except the debt of love you have to one another.
12:31Therefore, the only thing we can owe is love for others.
12:35In all other matters we must cooperate, we must obey, and we must remember all the laws
12:43They have been put in place precisely by God so that we can walk as a society in a way
12:49appropriate.
12:50When we start breaking rules, whether at school, at home,
12:57In business, in government, in the church, we're going to end up in a completely...
13:04anarchic and disorderly that will bring chaos to our family, our institution,
13:12our society.
13:13Let us seek to obey civil laws; laws have been established by God for us to obey.
13:20so that we can walk properly within this world.
13:24And well, we'll be back in just a moment for our last pastoral topic.
13:28Thank you!
13:29Thank you!
13:30Thanks for watching the video.