Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catechism Links [1]
CCC 1897-1917: Participation in the social sphere
CCC 2238-2244: Duties of citizens

“Temple Tax”
by John Singleton Copley, c. 1770’s

 
Readings for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
 
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
subduing nations before him,
and making kings run in his service,
opening doors before him
and leaving the gates unbarred:
For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.
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Commentary on Is 45:1, 4-6
 
Setting the scene for this passage, we must understand that the author writes from the Babylonian exile. Cyrus, a great Babylonian general who changes the nature of the conquering rule of the kingdom from one focused on taking the spoils of the captors to a more benevolent despotic one, is in this passage elevated to king. In the remarkable statement: “I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not,” we are told that, without violating Cyrus’ free will and despite the fact that he was not of the Hebrew people, God called him to be part of his plan of salvation.
 
The prophet goes on to echo God’s voice saying that God alone directs the destiny of mankind, and only through his power can salvation, the promised reward, come.
 
CCC: Is 45:5-7 304
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
 
R. (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor.

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity. 
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
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Commentary on Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
 
This song of praise exhorts the people to praise the Lord for his wondrous works of creation. The reason for this exhortation is that God will come to rule the earth with his justice. In this passage we see the forerunner of the understanding of the new Jerusalem – the heavenly kingdom.
 
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Reading II: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
 
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God,
how you were chosen.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
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Commentary on 1 Thes 1:1-5b
 
This is the introduction of St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. It is also the first mention by St. Paul of the three “theological virtues,” faith, love, and hope. The apostle calls the Thessalonians to these virtues supported by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
 
“Paul recalls the time he first spent with his readers. What stands out in his mind are the theological virtues that changed their lives: in faith they abandoned their idols and embraced the living God (1:9); in hope they endured suffering and expressed longing for the final salvation that Jesus will bring when he returns (1:10; 5:9); and in love they served one another in generous and sacrificial ways (4:9-10). These will protect them like armor in the challenging days ahead (e:8).” [5]
 
CCC: 1 Thes 1:10 442
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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."
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Commentary on Mt 22:15-21
 
St. Matthew describes this incident between Jesus and the Pharisees (with support of those who followed King Herod – Herodians who were fiercely loyal to Rome).  In this instance a trap was intended to be laid for Jesus by asking him if the census tax should be paid. The Lord would have been condemned if he answered yes or no.  If he said yes, the Hebrews would have called him heretic based on idol worship since Caesar considered himself to be a god.  If he said no, the Herodians would have pounced because Jesus would have been encouraging disobedience to the civil government.
 
“Is this not, in fact, one of the choice ploys of the enemies of religion in all ages?  ̶ namely, to argue that all those sublime truths about God’s glory and heroic charity, and so forth, may be very fine poetry indeed, but they change absolutely nothing in the hardships of our concrete lives… Was it not precisely Satan’s strategy during the Temptations to try persuading Jesus that, in ‘real’ human life, a real loaf of bread, made from real wheat grains, is far more nourishing than the ‘sublime’ Word of God?  No wonder Jesus knows the ‘malice’ in his questioners’ hearts!” [6]
 
The Lord finds the trap and avoids it by using the coin’s (graven) image of a false god to be paid to that god.  At the same time, he encouraged the Hebrew faithful to provide the necessary sacrifices and tithes to the temple.
 
CCC: Mt 22:21 2242
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Reflection:
 
What Jesus does not tell the Herodians and the Pharisees directly in St. Matthew’s account of their encounter might go something like this: “Oh, and even what you give to Caesar will somehow end up furthering God’s ultimate plan.”  This last statement comes out of our understanding of the first reading from Isaiah.
 
While the Hebrews were undergoing the great Diaspora (their exile), Cyrus, a great general and founder of the Persian Empire, was elevated to the throne of Babylon.  Isaiah explains that Cyrus’ elevation was the will of God as part of God’s plan to allow the people to return to their promised land.  God chose Cyrus even though Cyrus did not believe in Him.  God used him as his instrument even though Cyrus had no knowledge of his higher calling.
 
When we pause to consider God’s revelation as we look at the past, we marvel in wonder at his subtlety.  He moves things on a scale unimaginable, in ways only later discovered as we see his creation change and transform under his creating hands.
 
Given how much awe and majesty he displayed in human history, as exemplified by his choice of Cyrus, we can be amused at the Pharisees and the Herodians who are trying to trick God’s Only Son, Jesus, into contradicting either Jewish or Roman law with their question.  We marvel at the Lord’s restraint as he easily dodged their traps, at the same time furthering his own revelation of God’s intent.
 
First the Lord rebuked them for their hypocrisy. (They had just uttered all kinds of insincere flattery to him trying to lull him into a prideful answer.)  He then proceeded to bring them close to falling into their own trap asking them whose image and inscription were on the Roman coin used to pay the tax.  Although Scripture does not tell us, it must have been the Herodians who answered this part since the possession of such coins by the scrupulous Pharisees would have been seen as blasphemous.  In his response, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God" Jesus at once rejects Caesar’s claim to divinity and at the same time supports Mosaic Law, defusing the potential trap by the Pharisees.
 
All of this leads us to marvel today at God’s wisdom and power.  It also drives us to be vigilant for the signs of God’s presence in our own lives and those of others, even others who do not know him.  The Lord is indeed marvelous in his ways.
 
Pax
 
In other years on this date: Optional Memorial Of Saint John Paul II, Pope.

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “Temple Tax” by John Singleton Copley, c. 1770’s.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.373.
[6] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume III, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2012 p. 543.