WE BELONG TO GOD AND NOT TO CEASAR

SUNDAY, TWENTY NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIMEE

Isa 45:1,4-6; Ps 96:1,3-5,7-10; 1 Thess 1:4-5; Mt 22:15-21

Give to God what belongs to God

Our lives and everything we possess belong to God, for he made us for his own good purposes. We do not judge the goodness of that purpose by our own ends, but by God’s. But because the goodness is from a divine end, it will ultimately be for our greatest good. The conclusion is that God’s love for us is immeasurable and beyond our human comprehension. Only in Jesus Christ, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, do we begin to understand God's divine love for us. Divine love is the basis of every plan and work of God in our lives. God plans for our good even when we do not know him. He created and cared for us without our knowledge. The plan he made for Cyrus, the king of Persia, without his knowledge is the subject of the prophecy in the book of Isaiah. “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he has taken by his right hand to subdue nations before him and strip the loins of kings, to force gateways before him that their gates be closed no more.” Was Cyrus the king aware of God's plan for him? Of course not. Yet God used him to achieve his purpose for his people.

Although God plans for all he has made, he made us without our consent. But he cannot save us without our consent. In other words, his ultimate plan for the salvation of the human race is achieved only for those who believe in his word. His wonderful providence for us is revealed only to those who believe in his word. God admits us into the divine communion only through faith in his word. Thus, though God invested Cyrus with royal power and honour, his purpose is to save his people. “It is for the sake of my servant Jacob, of Israel my chosen one, that I have called you by your name, conferring a title though you do not know me.” Because the faithful inherit God’s plan and the ultimate end, the divine plan is said to be made for them. The word of God is the source of every good thing. So, by believing the word, we receive its divine contents and the blessings accompanying it. Jacob, or Israel, is the servant of God because he believed God’s revelation through his word. The same applies to us Christians. We belong to the community of God’s people because we believe the Gospel of his Son, Jesus Christ. Our faith therefore makes us coheirs with Jesus Christ, for through faith we receive the word of God and its divine contents, which is God himself.

Whoever receives the word of God receives God himself, for God is one with his word. So God’s plan is primarily for his own glory, and secondarily for those who believe his word and share his communion by their faith. “I am the Lord, unrivalled; there is no other God besides me. Though you do not know me, I arm you that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that, apart from me, all is nothing.” Though God’s plan has all peoples in view, blessing all, irrespective of their faith or allegiance. But the ultimate end is for the faithful. The failure to believe the word of God leaves the unfaithful with nothing; everything created is nothing without God. The Psalmist invites us to express our faith in God by singing praise to his holy name. “O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. Tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples.” Only the people of faith can praise God. For praise is a wonderful expression of our faith in God and his work of salvation. Without faith, we cannot know God or praise him.

Saint Paul confirmed the faith of the people of Thessalonica through their lives, and he praised God’s work among them. “We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Their lives of faithful witnessing to the Gospel were a new song of praise to God for his wonderful work of human salvation. This is the new song the Psalmist invites us to sing always. Without this faithfulness to the Gospel, there would be no proof that we have been admitted to the community of God’s people, who will inherit his ultimate glory in heaven. Every divine plan and wonder here on earth is ultimately for the good of his chosen one. “We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.” Without receiving God’s word, which details his plan for us, we cannot fully enter into his divine plan and enjoy the good God intends for us therein.

Our Lord Jesus Christ made this same point to the Pharisees who wanted to trap him in his words instead of accepting them as a message of salvation. They asked him: “‘Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Ceasar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar—and to God what belongs to God.’” By refusing to accept the word of God, they denied their inheritance in God, for we are made to house the word of God, which is our light and life. We give ourselves, soul, mind, and body back to God when we believe in the Good News of our Lord Jesus. God made us for this purpose, and we belong to him. “Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord the glory of his name. Bring an offering and enter his courts.”  

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.