Who is God and what do we owe him? The answer to both questions is “everything.” This question has its origins in the 1st Commandment, “I am the Lord your God… there is no other.” But what does that mean to us on a practical level? In short, it is God whom we thank for everything we have, and because of this it is only God to whom we owe our allegiance.
The Word for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time:
Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
Psalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
Mathew 22:15-21
We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, in this case “Deutero” or Second Isaiah. The Exile is coming to an end. The Babylonian Empire has fallen to the Persians and now the Persian king, Cyrus, whom we know as Cyrus the Great, has been, according to Isaiah, anointed by God. Wait, Cyrus? A pagan? A foreign king? Yes. How could this be? Simple – God can choose whomever he wishes. The hand God chose to free Israel from her Exile was in fact the hand of Cyrus, the king of the Persian Empire, who through the defeat of the Babylonians has now set Israel free and wants to send them home. To Israel, this is not only redemption but an opportunity to show everyone God’s power and God’s mercy. To show all nations that it is God whom we thank, God whom we honor, and God in who we owe everything. Our Psalm echoes this song of praise.
Our second reading begins our study of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, which we will be reading from through the rest of this season. This week’s passage starts with the initial greeting. In this passage Paul greets them in the peace of Christ and give thanks to God for all of them, reminding them that it was not on their word alone that lead them to Christ but the power of the Holy Spirt.
Our Gospel from Matthew picks up, again where we left off last week. The Pharisees, whom after having been confronted by a series of parables from Jesus (who chastised them severely), go off and plot their revenge. They send their disciples back to confront Jesus with a question about paying the Imperial tax. The question is a trap. If he says pay the tax, he gives the Sanhedrin evidence he’s siding with the Romans. If he says don’t pay the tax, he gives the Romans evidence for inciting rebellion. But Jesus knows this is a trap and finds a way around it. He asks for a coin and then asks them to identify who’s image is on that coin. It is, obviously, Caesar’s image, whereupon Jesus says, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
This story, shared in all three Synoptic Gospels, marks a profound break from Hebrew tradition – separating fealty to God from that of the temporal authority. Jewish tradition puts its focus on the Jewish state, in other words, the state of Israel ruled by the Israelites. Jesus, on the other hand, sees fighting against the Roman occupation (and the Herodian dynasty) as counterproductive. Instead we should focus on our relationship with God and let everything else flow from that. I would argue that it is here where Jesus himself originates the concept of a separation between church and state. Empires come and go, but God remains.
Final Thoughts:
This has to be one of my favorite stories from all the Gospels because it is here that Jesus defiantly teaches us where our loyalties should reside. Not to the Temple. Not to the Romans. Only to God – only to love.
In that one short sentence Jesus embodies the Spirit found in Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World from the Second Vatican Council, which recognizes that the Church does not live outside of the world, but rather is a part of the world and lives in the world. Our faith cannot be lived in some spiritual ideal but must be found and lived in the world as it is. The world for Jesus is one where the Roman Empire rules the land, just as other empires have ruled before and will rule after it. Should we let that stand in the way of our relationship with God? Jewish tradition has strong ties to the land – Land, which tradition dictates, was given to them by God. Yet here Jesus is advocating for something revolutionary – a faith no longer rooted in the land but one where the Kingdom of God is wherever two or more are gathered in his name. That place could be anywhere and could include everyone. The Kingdom of God is not a place, but a state of mind independent of whoever is in charge of the land.
For anyone who is a parent, or anyone who’s had to mediate a dispute among children, you likely have confronted the phrase “But that’s not fair!” How many times in your life have you uttered that phrase? Even as adults we have a tendency to equate “justice” with “fairness.” But here’s the thing – what is “just” may not always be “fair,” and what is “fair” to one person may not always be “fair” to the other. Our readings this week deal with just that problem, the difference between what we think is fair and what God thinks is both fair and just. The Word for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a Matthew 20-1-16a We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, in this case from the closing chapter of Deutero or “second” Isaiah. This comes from a point in Israelite history where the people have been released from their Exile in Babylon. The Lord has shown them great mercy and forgiveness by freeing them from th
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