BIBLE STUDY #59
TWENTYNINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 16, 2011

READING 1: IS 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.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2: 1 THES 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.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL MT 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.
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

Reflection

The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus. Why? Is it because he is getting more popular than them? Do people believe more in what Jesus teaches than what they teach? Are afraid that the Romans would back Jesus and they would lose their power, never mind their job? In any case, I’d bet that they think that Jesus is pulling the people away from God.

Their intention is to discredit Jesus. They are not seeking guidance in a difficult moral situation. If he says to pay taxes, he will lose face with his own people. If he says not to pay taxes, he will be in trouble with the Romans. When they approach Jesus, there are insincere but true: He does teach the ‘way of God in accordance with the truth’ and is not concerned with the opinion of others. As we would say, Jesus is being ‘buttered up’ or schmoozed.

Jesus recognizes that for what it is and calls them hypocrites; people who say one thing but believe another; play actors.

The tax mentioned is a poll tax, imposed in A.D. 6, and levied upon men, women, and slaves from about age 12 to sixty-five. The amount was a denarius, a full day’s pay for a laborer and payable in Roman currency.

Jesus recommends that the tax be paid since the coins are the emperor’s anyway: ‘then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar’. He then redirects their thought to something that is more important ‘(repay) to God what belongs to God.’

Not only does Jesus defuse the situation, he uses it to make an invitation to become closer to God. What belongs to God? Everything! He is inviting us to give all of ourselves to God. Jesus advocates a limited position of cooperation with the emperor, but a position of full cooperation with God.

Giving to Caesar can be defined, but how about giving to God? That’s a little harder. God is love. What does it mean to love? Giving to Caesar is something that we do; giving to God is something that we are. It is a philosophy of life that guides and directs every thought and action. Are we good stewards, ready to give back to God for all that God has done for us?

In the first reading from Isaiah, we see King Cyrus described as an instrument of God’s graciousness to his people. While the Israelites were enslaved in the past by other kings and this was seen as God working in their lives, so receiving freedom through Cyrus is seen as God’s initiative. “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp” signifies that Cyrus is doing God’s work. Instances like these make the Israelites see that there is only one God; not that God is more powerful than pagan gods, but that pagan gods don’t exist: “I am the LORD, there is no other”.

In the second reading, St. Paul is reminding us that God and Jesus are the primary agents in the Thessalonian church, as well as in our church. While Paul planted the seed of faith, and the people accepted it, it is really God who needs to be thanked for the gift of faith. Just as St. Paul prays for this church, so we must pray for one another.


Fr. Phil