TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
18 OCTOBER 2026
Our
Scripture readings today speak of vocation.
The word “vocation” comes from the Latin word, vocare, which means “to call.”
We Catholics speak of a vocation through the lens of a state in
life. Most of you have been called to
live as married couples. Others are
called to live as members of a religious order, both male and female. I have been called to the priesthood.
However,
our readings speak much more broadly of “vocation.” They reflect the Second Vatican Council’s understanding
of vocation as a “universal call to holiness.”
God chooses to call everyone to some kind of holiness. The prophet Isaiah says that God called the
Persian king Cyrus to free the Chosen People from their exile in Babylon. Cyrus was a pagan and had no idea who the God
of Israel was. But that does not stop
God from naming him as his anointed, as his Messiah or savior. In calling Cyrus, God grasped him by the
hand, even though Cyrus did not know him.
Cyrus responded to God’s call in defeating the Babylonians and allowing
God’s Chosen People to return to Jerusalem and their Promised Land. Isaiah makes it clear that even through Cyrus
does not believe in God, there is only one God, and there is no other.
In today’s
Gospel, the Pharisees and Herodians flatter Jesus by calling him a teacher who
is a truthful man. However, they are not
interested in knowing any truth. These
two groups agree on nothing. The
Pharisees oppose Roman rule and regard it as an unjust burden on God’s Chosen
People. The Herodians cooperate with the
Roman rule and prosper because of it. To
trap him, they ask Jesus if it is lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or
not. If Jesus answers that it is not
lawful, the Herodians will call him a rebel and report him to the authorities,
as they had done previously to a Galilean teacher and had him executed. If Jesus answers that it is lawful, then the
Pharisees will accuse him of being in league with Rome and supporting an unfair
tax that puts unjust burdens on the people.
Instead of falling into their trap, he asks to see a coin. He asks them whose image is on the coin. They reply, “Caesar’s.” We are familiar with the first part of his
answer, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” It reminds us that we need to pay our taxes
every April 15 as faithful American Catholics.
But we
often forget the second part of his answer, “…and to God what belongs to
God.” Everything belongs to God,
including Caesar himself, who was made in the image and likeness of God, as are
all of us. That is the message sent by
Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy to the church of Thessalonica. And through this living Word of God, it is
the message they send to us. Like them,
we live out our universal call to holiness when we work as a labor of love for
others. Some of us have been called to
work as married couples. Others have
been called to work as religious men or women.
Some of us have been called to work as priests. No matter what our
individual states in life may be, we share a team approach to the universal
call to holiness by working together to make the presence of God more visible
in a divided and hateful world.
As Paul reminds
the Thessalonians, he reminds us that we endure with hope in the Lord Jesus
Christ, especially when we experience difficulties and pain and challenges in
our individual vocations. Last week, we
priests participated in a workshop focused on how we can face the difficult
situations that we encounter in our particular vocation. As with married couples, our ultimate hope
rests in our faith that the Lord is present in the grace we have received from
our Sacramental commitment.
As we live
out our common call to universal holiness, Saint Paul reminds us of our
conviction in our faith and beliefs. In
each of our vocations, the Lord has clearly manifested himself to us. We remember those times and continue to make
the Lord’s presence more visible.
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