TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
22 OCTOBER 2023
In
the Ancient Near East, pagans regarded their gods as territorial. Each god was thought to be in charge of a
distinct territory. However, the Prophet
Isaiah reminds his people that the one true God is not territorial. The one true God has remained faithful to his
people in captivity in Babylon, even though the temple, God’s dwelling place,
has been destroyed. God remains with his
people, even though they had been unfaithful to the Covenant.
Today,
Isaiah speaks in God’s name to tell his people that they have been
forgiven. God will return them to the
Promised Land, and God will do it in a completely unexpected way. The one true God will use a pagan king who
knows nothing about God to allow his people to return. God exercises his absolute power by choosing
King Cyrus as the “anointed one” (literally, as the messiah). God will use Cyrus to reveal to the nations
that there is only one true Lord.
This truth
is at the heart of the conflict in today’s Gospel. Jesus has been teaching in the temple during
the last week of his life. Many of his parables
have been very unflattering to the religious leaders of the people. So, the Pharisees are trying to get even with
him. They are joined by the Herodians, the
supporters of King Herod who owes his power to the occupying Romans. The two groups have nothing in common, except
that they are both opposed to Jesus and his teaching in the temple.
Their
disciples approach Jesus and try to flatter him, telling him what a great
teacher he is. Then they pose a question
to trap him. “Is it lawful to pay the
census tax to Caesar or not?” If he
answers that it is lawful, the Pharisees will use his response to deny that he
is the Messiah. How could a Jewish
Messiah support a ruthless and cruel occupation force? If he answers that it is not lawful, the
Herodians will turn him over to the Romans and accuse him of sedition.
Instead of
falling into their trap, he asks for a coin that pays the census tax. He already has the upper hand, because those
disciples should not be carrying a Roman coin.
The coin has the image of Caesar with the inscription: Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus,
high priest.” These same disciples
charge a hefty fee to worshippers coming to the temple to purchase coins
without that image. In fact, earlier
that week, Jesus had overturned the money changers’ tables in the temple
area. He answers by saying, “Then repay
to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
In essence,
he is giving the same message that Isaiah had given to his people in exile in
Babylon centuries before. There is only
one true God who remains with his people.
God has made everyone in his image, even Caesar. Jesus reveals himself as the Son of God who
will be sacrificed, not on a sacred altar in the temple, but on an execution
hill outside the city. He will be raised
on the third day from the dead. That
death and resurrection will reconcile all people made in God’s image to the
Father.
As
Americans, we often interpret this familiar response to speak of the separation
of church and state. Of course, as
citizens of this country, we support our government by voting and paying
taxes. However, his answer goes well
beyond a separation of church and state.
We are made in God’s image.
Everything we have is a gift from God.
In gratitude, we give back to the Lord a generous portion of what he has
given to us. Does this sound
familiar? It should, because this is
exactly what we mean in describing stewardship as a way of life through prayer,
service, and sacrificial giving.
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