October 22^nd 2017. Twenty Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 22, 15-21

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL: Matthew 22, 15-21

The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Is Jesus telling us that the secular realm and the realm of faith are two separate jurisdictions altogether? Is he telling us to turn our backs on the world and practice our faith in private, in separation from the world? The first reading sheds some light on this question. It tells how a Persian king – who did not even know God – was used by God to bring freedom to the people of Israel. God’s providence is working all the time in the world! The early Christians knew the meaning of Jesus’ statement, “Give to Caesar what is of Caesar and to God what is of God”. They respected the political structures of the Romans and lived peaceful lives, but they refused to make sacrifice to the Emperor. They did not give him what rightfully belonged only to God, and they were willing to die as a result. We too are called by Jesus in this Gospel to give to God what belongs to God, even while we are living in the world. Jesus is not asking us to turn our backs on the world, but to keep God our priority in our dealings with the world. Even if we enter a monastery, we can still have hearts that belong to Caesar! The invitation being extended to each one of us this Sunday is to belong only to God, to have hearts that are owned by him. When we act in the world, our hearts must remain his only. We must not budge one centimetre from him.

Is Jesus telling us that the realm of Caesar and the realm of God are two separate kingdoms altogether?

At first sight, this Gospel seems to put God and Caesar into contraposition. The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus, so they ask him a question about the tribute tax that was due to the Romans. Whatever answer Jesus gives, the Pharisees surmise, will lead him into trouble. If he says not to pay the tax, then he can be reported to the Roman authorities. But if he says to pay it, then he will seem a mere servant of the Romans. Jesus chooses neither option but offers his own solution to the question: "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." Is Jesus saying that the jurisdiction of Caesar and the jurisdiction of God are two separate realms altogether?

As the first reading demonstrates, God is active in the world of Caesar as well. These are not two separate realms. In all of our dealings with the realm of Caesar we are asked to place God at the heart of our activity

The first reading from Isaiah 45 gives us a new perspective on this question. The passage recounts God’s call of the Persian king Cyrus to free the people of Israel from their exile in Babylon. But there is no evidence that Cyrus ever became a believer in the God of Israel. Nevertheless, through their faith in the work of God’s providence in history, the people of Israel saw Cyrus as one anointed by God to free them from their seventy years of oppression. As the first reading says, Cyrus was called by God even though he himself was unaware of it. Cyrus may not have had a direct personal relationship with God, yet he was given this role in history by the Lord. Isn’t it curious that this first reading unifies the jurisdictions of Caesar and God? In the first centuries of the Church, the Romans killed many Christians, even though the first believers were in no way subversive to the political fabric of the empire. They were persecuted because they refused to give priority to the state Gods. The only law they broke was their refusal to sacrifice to the Emperor. In other words, they did not give to Caesar what was rightfully due to God, but they did render onto Caesar the things that were properly his.

We are asked to be in the world but not be of the world

Just as we saw in the first reading, it is not a simple question of separating the realms of Caesar and God. The hand of God can help bring salvation through a secular power such as that of Cyrus. The Gospel does not ask us to turn our backs completely on the world. We are called to do a more difficult thing, something that Christians have always done: be in the world but not be of the world. We don’t have to go somewhere else but be of God here and now. Every day we must ask ourselves: “Who am I for? Who do I belong to? What is my heart attached to?” In the worldly things that I encounter every day, the important thing is that my heart belongs to God and does not budge one centimetre from him. This is completely different to a schizophrenic approach to reality where God is pitted against Caesar. True, it is hard to be with God when I am in the midst of other things, but this is what we are all called to, even those who live the monastic life. Some people think that the religious life enables a complete separation from the world. But the world comes with us into the cloister, it is written in every act of ours. Even in the cloister, our hearts can be with Caesar, but what we are called to is to have a heart that is only for God.

The person of flesh and the person of Spirit are not two different people. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we are called to serve God with our flesh and with everything that we are

We are called to live in the real world whilst continually evaluating that reality according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This style of life does not cast the world away but welcomes it with the love of God. The world and God are not in counter position, but we are challenged to interact with the world according to the workings of grace. St Paul speaks of the person of flesh and the person of Spirit. These are not two different persons. We can be obedient to the flesh or obedient to the Holy Spirit. When we are obedient to the Holy Spirit then we do so with our entire flesh and with everything that we are. This saying of Jesus, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” is fundamentally an invitation to make the Lord our priority in everything, to belong to him and to no one else, to be someone who is united to the Lord, who loves him and puts him first.