29th Sunday In Ordinary Time
19 October 2008
First reading Isaiah 45:1 - 6
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whom he has taken by his right hand
to subdue nations before him
and strip the loins of kings,
to force gateways before him
that their gates be closed no more:
It is for the sake of my servant Jacob,
of Israel my chosen one,
that I have called you by your name,
conferring a title though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, unrivalled;
there is no other God besides me.
Though you do not know me, I arm you
that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
that, apart from me, all is nothing.
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 95
Second reading 1 Thessalonians 1:1 - 5
From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace.
We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.
Gospel Matthew 22:15 - 21
Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’
Reflections
By Fr. Bobby Titco
The enigmatic saying of Jesus in the Gospel today, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”, is often quoted to defend the principle of separation between the Church and the State. Doing so, Jesus is gravely misquoted. Jesus did not mean to separate the Church from the State. He did not mean that the Church must confine herself on the spiritual realm only while the State must attend to the temporal affairs of men and women.
When we hear Jesus say, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”, do we not also hear our selves asking the question, “And what really belongs to Caesar that does not belong to God?” Our question will yield only one simple answer: nothing except one. All things that belong to Caesar came from God, except Caesar’s sins. Inversely, all that belongs to Caesar, save his sins, belongs to God, too. But not everything that belongs to God belongs to Caesar.
Therefore, Jesus is far from making a declaration that separates the Church from the State. When we invoke His words today to hinder the Church from doing her pastoral duty to safeguard morality in politics, we are misquoting Jesus. Do we not find it funny, to say the least, when at election time, political candidates are seen courting the support of religious leaders but the same politicians, after being elected into office, call the same religious leaders names if the latter raise their voices against an immoral governance or against policies that run counter to the values of God? It seems that, for those politicians, the principle of separation between Church and State depends on what side the Church takes on particular issues.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. All things belong to God, including Caesar. Anything we hold from God, our sins not counted, is something we steal from God.
(Lifted from Fr. Bob Titco's CRUMBS)
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