TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
19 OCTOBER 2014
First
words are very important. We listen
carefully to the first words of a newly elected Pope, or the first words at the
inauguration of a new president, or the first homily given by a new pastor. We pay attention to these first words,
because they often set the tone and give some indication of what will follow.
In today's
second reading, we hear first words.
Saint Paul wrote this Letter to the Thessalonians around the year 50,
making it the first written piece of the New Testament. In these first words, he sets the tone for
all who have become disciples of Jesus Christ.
He greets us with two significant words:
the Greek word Charis (grace),
reminding us that the Lord has extended an invitation that we did not earn; and
the Hebrew word Shalom (peace),
reminding us of a relationship we enjoy through Jesus Christ to other members
of the Body of Christ. Then he affirms our
work to be faithful witnesses. He
mentions the three theological virtues which will appear many times in his
later letters. He says that our work
must be rooted in faith. He reminds us
that working to be a disciple is a labor of love. When things get tough, we need an endurance
of hope. Finally, he reminds us that we have been chosen. Just as God had chosen a pagan king (Cyrus)
to deliver his Chosen People from their Exile in Babylon, so God has chosen us
through the waters of Baptism to become agents of transformation in a world filled
with darkness.
It is
within the context of these words from Saint Paul that we can apply to our
lives what Jesus says in the Gospel.
When the Pharisees join ranks with the Herodians, they are eager to trap
Jesus in a dangerous question about taxation.
The Pharisees strongly object to the yoke of Roman rule and object to
the image of Caesar on the coins they must use.
They know that there is only one God, and that is not Caesar. The Herodians work with the occupying forces
and use those coins to increase their wealth.
If Jesus would have answered that it is not lawful to pay the census
tax, the Herodians would have arrested him for sedition. If Jesus would have answered that it is
lawful, the Pharisees would have accused him of making Caesar a false god. Instead, Jesus makes his famous statement: "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to
Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
That
principle has guided Christians in discerning our relationship between church
and state for centuries. Christians have
always understood that governments are necessary to bring order to society and
to provide services for people to live in harmony with one another. But we have also understood that everything
belongs to God, even Caesar who was made in God’s image. That is why many Christians in the earliest
centuries gave up their lives. They
refused to burn incense to an emperor who claimed that he is god, knowing that
there is only one God. That is why
Christians today are being martyred in the Islamic takeover in Syria and Iraq.
In many
ways, we are fortunate to live in a country built on the principle of
separation of church and state. In many
ways, we can practice our faith in freedom.
But we also know the current threats to our religious freedom. We do not ask ourselves, "What would
Jesus do"? Instead, we rely on the
wisdom of the teaching authority of the Church to guide us as we sort out these
challenges. We can consult the Church’s
teaching by reading Today’s Catholic,
by going to the website of the United States Catholic Bishops, and other
sources of authentic Church teaching. In
the end, that teaching finds its foundation in Saint Paul's first words. The Lord has invited us into a relationship
that offers profound grace and peace.
The difficult work we undertake must be rooted in faith, love, and hope. We have been chosen by Christ, not to put
ourselves above the culture, but to be instruments of transforming love in our culture.
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