Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 14, 2020 -- NINE
Spiritually Speaking
Local man proposes
vandalized Portland Give God what belongs to Him
statues find new
home, in Heppner
‘Are the citizens of Heppner inter-
ested in acquiring these statues?’
Portland rioters vandalized and defaced statutes of Washing-
ton, top, and Jefferson.
By David Sykes
A Heppner man wants
to know if citizens of Hep-
pner are interested in ob-
taining several Portland
statues vandalized by Anti-
fa rioters this past summer
(See letter to editor ‘Move
statues to Heppner’) and
bring them to a new home
where they would be taken
care of and appreciated.
He specifically mentioned
statues of Jefferson and
Washington damaged in
June as well as statues of
Abraham Lincoln and The-
odore Roosevelt that were
also overturned and van-
dalized this past weekend.
Dale Woods of Hep-
pner said he would like to
see statues that have been
vandalized by rioters in
Portland, “taken to places
where they will be pre-
served and appreciated.”
Woods asked for city coun-
cil input and approval of the
idea of bringing the statues
to Heppner. He read a letter
which is also published in
this week’s Heppner Ga-
zette-Times.
“On June 14 the statue
of Thomas Jefferson was
toppled from its place at
Jefferson High School a
few blocks from where I
once lived in north Port-
land,” Woods said. “And
less than a week later the
statue of George Washing-
ton was pulled down where
it stood on the grounds
of the German American
Society. The day after, the
director of public art at the
Regional Arts Council went
to the site and asked people
gathered there what should
be done with the statue of
Washington. One citizen
stated a desire to see the
statue relocated somewhere
and displayed exactly as it
was that morning: tipped
over, face down, sprayed
with graffiti, an object
of scorn and contempt,”
Woods told the city council.
“I write this letter not
in a momentary burst of
outrage, but because I have
thought many times in the
past several months about
statues all over the country
that need to be taken to
places where they will be
preserved and appreciated,”
he added. “My question
now is this: Are the citizens
of Heppner interested in
acquiring these statues?”
The council discussed
the idea with one coun-
cilmember asking if Hep-
pner people would want
the statues. Eventually most
agreed it was a good idea
and told Woods to move
forward with finding out
who owns the statues and
what was planning on being
down with them. He said
he would write letters to
several agencies in Portland
to find out.
Buys new street lights
In other business the
council agreed to purchase
30 new streetlights from
distributor Carlson’s Sales
for $21,950. Local repre-
sentatives Slater Mitchell
and Josh Coiner were on
hand to talk about the new
lights, and the council also
went outside and looked
at several samples already
mounted from various
companies. The council
also authorized spending
$2,000 for light installation
and $500 for repair of elec-
trical outlets on the poles.
Councilmembers Dave Gunderson and John Bowles along
with city Manager Kraig Cutsforth go outside city hall at last
night’s meeting to evaluate several sample street lights.
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church
Human beings are always engaged in various types
of work and activities. We compartmentalize our lives
and values according to situations and persons. When
we go to work, we embrace one set of values for dealing
with persons we engage with in our workplaces. Once we
return to our homes, we have another set of values and
principles. Similarly, we profess yet another set of values
in our religious commitment. Often there can be moments
when these values clash and we must make choices. Does
God have the first place? Do we see ourselves as believers
first? Today’s word challenges us to make first preference
to God always.
The first reading, from the prophet Isaiah (45:1, 4-6),
reiterates the basic principles: God is the God of history
and He is in charge of the world and nothing occurs by
accident or by mere coincidence. The Lord is constantly at
work, even though we may not see His hand or recognize
Him. King Cyrus may think that victory comes because
of his might, but he is God’s hand, to chasten the rebels
who fight against Israel. The prophet goes on to repeat
that God is supreme and none can take His place. Even
though the people do not acknowledge this and give due
credit to God, He still takes care of His people and will
continue to provide for them. God took care of His peo-
ple through a pagan king and He continues to take care
of us, often through the most unlikely people in strange
and wonderful ways. Even at this time of pandemic, we
need to acknowledge the fact that we are surviving and
going ahead not because of our merits. It is because of
Him who has a plan for every one of us.
In the second reading, Paul congratulates the Thes-
salonians (1 Thess. 1: 1-5) for their acceptance of the
message of the Gospel and for their living of the faith in
their daily life. Paul notes that he constantly thanks God
for the Thessalonians and mentions them in his prayers.
He is obviously happy with them. The credit goes not
only to their efforts but to God, whose grace is active
among them and to which they respond so generously.
The Thessalonians are also praised for having heard and
accepted the word of God and letting the word transform
their lives. This letter of St. Paul invites every one of us
to have this attitude of the Thessalonians, who received
the word of God and transformed their lives, and each of
us needs to give thought to his advice.
Today’s Gospel, Matthew (22: 15-21), continues to
relate the conflict growing between the Pharisees and Je-
sus. The Pharisees try to test Jesus on the issue of paying
taxes to the Romans. “Is it permissible to pay taxes or
not?” The unconcealed question is whether it is proper to
pay taxes to the government, but there is a hidden agenda
that Jesus is well aware of. Because the tax paid to Rome
was a constant humiliation and a reminder that they were
a conquered people, a majority of the Jews hated it, and
the Pharisees were against paying taxes to the Romans.
On the other hand, Herod
and his followers were in
favor of paying taxes to
Rome. Jesus, knowing this,
answered the question in
a different way from their
expectations. He knew if
he said taxes had to be paid
to Rome, the people would
be against him, and if he
said the opposite, he would Fr. Thankachan Joseph
be seen as provoking revolt
against the authorities. Jesus completely sidesteps the
issue by asking them for a coin with which the taxes
were to be paid. This coin bore the image of Caesar and
an engraving declaring his authority. Jesus simply says,
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what
belongs to God.” Since the money comes from Caesar
and belongs to him, he obviously has a right to demand
it, so Jesus says, “Give it to him.”
Jesus is not entering into a discussion of the rights
of the state and the rights of religion; he is not making a
statement in favor of one or the other, but he proposes a
deeper truth. What matters more to Jesus than being un-
der Caesar’s rule and paying taxes is belonging to God’s
kingdom. Jesus is reminding his listeners of a deeper is-
sue, that if they belong to God, they have to give God his
dues through their daily lives, that they should have God
as the most important priority in their lives. What they
owe to God is far more important than what they owe to
anyone else. It is easy to remember what we owe to our
fellow men, but do we forget what we owe to God, who
doesn’t force anything from us? A good Christian is one
who fulfills his duty both to his fellow men and women
and to God. In fact, Christians should not shirk public
office but see it as an opportunity to serve their fellow
men and women and, thereby, God. Only when there is
a clash of interests do we have to remind ourselves that
God always comes first.
As we approach our Presidential election, we need to
keep in mind an example of a religious man involved in
politics, Mahatma Gandhi. He said, “I am in politics be-
cause I cannot separate life from belief. Because I believe
in God, I have to enter politics. Politics is my service to
God.” Similarly, friends tried to warn Nelson Mandela to
stay off politics, saying, “Politics brings out the worst in
people. It is a source of trouble and corruption and should
be avoided at all cost.” Fortunately for South Africa and
for the world, Nelson Mandela ignored their advice and
made an outstanding contribution to his country and the
world. We need to keep in mind the above principle,
“Give God what belongs to Him” then surely, He in turn
will bring a leader according to His fashion. So make first
preference to God always.
The Loop - Morrow
County Transportation will
be holding its quarterly ad-
visory committee meetings
on October 20 at the Bar-
tholomew Building lower
conference room, located
at 110 N. Court St. in Hep-
pner.
The Special Trans-
portation Fund Advisory
Committee will start at 3
p.m. On the agenda will be
public comment, approval
of minutes, Transportation
Coordinator update and
other business as needed for
the good of the order.
The Statewide Trans-
other than in-person. The
meetings will be available
for viewing via Morrow
County Zoom Meeting. To
schedule a Zoom Meeting
invitation please provide
The Loop committee meetings scheduled
portation Improvement
Fund Advisory Committee
will immediately follow
the Special Transportation
Fund Meeting. On the agen-
da will be public comment,
approval of the minutes,
Transportation Coordinator
update and other business
as needed for the good of
the order.
In response to the cur-
rent health emergency re-
sulting from the COVID-19
pandemic, county facilities
have limited seating ca-
pacity and meetings are
being held electronically
to provide participation
your name, phone number
and email address with The
Loop - Morrow County
Transportation via phone
message at 541-676-5667,
or kimes@co.morrow.or.us.
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