Give to God What Belongs to God
We are reminded to
give to GOD what belongs to GOD. In Isaiah, GOD calls Cyrus (the pagan ruler)
“GOD’s own anointed (messiah, christos).” Even the heathen leaders belong to
GOD and GOD can use them to bring divine Goodness to the chosen people – the
Jews. The psalm is a hymn of praise of GOD for GOD’s being the true ruler of
all peoples. In our Second Reading, St. Paul begins his earliest letter to the
people of Thessalonika. He thanks GOD for gifting the Thessalonians with faith,
hope, and love. In the Gospel, in response to a question posed by the religious
and civil leaders, Jesus instructs everyone that GOD must be given all that
belongs to GOD.
Commentary: This passage of Isaiah must have been written at the very end of the exile in Babylon, as Cyrus, King of Persia, was approaching to take over the city and decree that the captives, Jews, and other nations, should be sent home to their own countries. In this, the Jews saw Cyrus as God’s own envoy. It must have finally confirmed them in the new understanding, reached by being sunk into the hostile and alien civilization of Babylon, that their God, the LORD, was God not just of Israel but of the whole world. Before the exile, of course, they were convinced that the LORD was their own special God and protector, but what of other nations? Confronted with the alien and materialistic gods of Babylon, they realized that God, their own intimate and loving LORD, was the God not just of Israel but of the whole world, the whole universe, the creator of light and darkness. If no other lesson was learned from the Exile, that was a major advance in understanding. Do we have other gods to worship? Do we accept the LORD as the key to every door in the universe, even the door of our own hearts?
The psalm speaks of
the responsibility and duty believers have to give GOD the glory and praise
that is due to the LORD, for GOD is the ruler of all. It is only fitting that
GOD be given adoration and praise, for everything belongs to GOD, all good acts
are of GOD, and GOD should be given what is due.
Commentary: The First Letter to the Thessalonians is the earliest of all Paul’s letters. Paul moved so rapidly around the new Christian communities that he founded that he could never instruct them fully at the first founding. We too need to go on learning more about our faith. So, Paul needed to keep in touch, answer questions, solve difficulties, and show his ‘concern for all the Churches’. They are real letters, each responding to a different set of circumstances. Each of Paul’s letters begins with a warm greeting, ‘grace and peace’. ‘Grace’ is God’s affectionate and powerful smile, drawing us into God’s loving protection, and empowering us to live and work for him. Then, with his thoughtful courtesy, Paul encourages them (where possible – the Galatians get no compliments, for they have let Paul down badly) with praise for their achievements in Christ. Here he praises their faith, their love, and their firm hope, and also the effectiveness in their lives of the power of the Spirit. It never does any harm to look for the best in people and show that their efforts have been recognized!
Commentary: They
must really have thought they had their victim sewn up! If Jesus said he paid
the Roman taxes, he recognized the Emperor, not God, as his Lord. If he said he
didn’t pay, he was a traitor to Rome. Jesus turns the question back on them.
First, he makes them admit that they themselves recognize Rome as overlord by
carrying a Roman coin, for the coin would carry the Emperor’s head. Next, he
asks them a question: what do they consider is due to Caesar? Finally, he goes
beyond their question, to interrogate their ultimate loyalty: in the last
analysis, just what is due to God? At a superficial level, this seems a little
verbal tussle, in which Jesus outwits his opponents. But the story was
remembered and passed on in the Christian community not because of Jesus’
cleverness, but because at a deeper level, it is a question that Jesus puts to
each of us: just where do our loyalties and priorities lie? Money? Respect?
Fame? A good holiday? Comfort? Power? Jesus is not a dictator who imposes his
will. He just asks the question and leaves us to give our own answer. To those
who question him, he gives no easy answer but always replies with another
question.
Reflection: What do we owe God and our neighbour? Scripture tells us to give to everyone whatever is their due and to "owe no one anything, except to love one another" (Romans 13:6-8). The Jewish authorities sought to trap Jesus in a religious-state issue. The Jews resented their foreign rulers and despised paying taxes to Caesar. They posed a dilemma to test Jesus to see if he was loyal to them and to their understanding of religion. If Jesus answered that it was lawful to pay taxes to a pagan ruler, then he would lose credibility with the Jewish nation who would regard him as a coward and a friend of Caesar. If he said it was not lawful, then the Pharisees would have grounds to report him to the Roman authorities as a political troublemaker and have him arrested.
Coins inscribe
the owner's name and authority on them
Jesus avoided their trap by confronting them with the image of a coin. Coinage in the ancient world had significant political power. Rulers issued coins with their own image and inscription on them. In a certain sense, the coin was regarded as the personal property of the ruler. Where the coin was valid the ruler held political sway over the people. Since the Jews used the Roman currency, Jesus explained that what belonged to Caesar must be given to Caesar.
We have been
"stamped" with God's image and likeness
This story has
another deeper meaning as well. We, too, have been stamped with God's image
since we are created in his own likeness - "God created man in his own
image ..male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:26-27). We rightfully
belong not to ourselves, but to God who created us and redeemed us in the
precious blood of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Paul the Apostle says that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice
to God (Romans 12:1). Do you acknowledge that your life and everything you
possess belongs to God and not to yourself? And do you give to God what
rightfully belongs to him?
Lord, because you
have made me, I owe you the whole of my love; because you have redeemed me, I
owe you the whole of myself; because you have promised so much, I owe you all
my being. Moreover, I owe you as much more love than myself as you are greater
than I, for whom you gave yourself and to whom you promised yourself. I pray
you, Lord, make me taste by love what I taste by knowledge; let me know by love
what I know by understanding. I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no
more, and by myself, I cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you,
Lord, in the fullness of love. I am wholly yours by creation; make me all
yours, too, in love. (prayer of Anselm, 1033-1109 AD)
Daily Quote from
the Early Church Fathers: Put off the earthly image and put on the heavenly
one, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"Some people
think that the Saviour spoke on a single level when he said, 'Give to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar' - that is, 'pay the tax that you owe.' Who among us
disagrees about paying taxes to Caesar? The passage therefore has a mystical
and secret meaning. There are two images of humanity. One he received from God
when he was made, in the beginning, as Scripture says in the book of Genesis,
'according to the image and likeness of God' (Genesis 1:27). The other image is
of the earth (1 Corinthians 15:49). Man received this second image later. He
was expelled from Paradise because of disobedience and sin after the 'prince of
this world' (John 12:31) had tempted him with his enticements. Just as the
coin, or denarius, has an image of the emperor of this world, so he who does
the works of 'the ruler of the darkness' (Ephesians 6:12) bears the image of
him whose works he does. Jesus commanded that that image should be handed over
and thrown away from our faces. He wills us to take on that image, according to
which we were made from the beginning, according to God's likeness. It then
happens that we give 'to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what is
God's.' Jesus said, 'Show me a coin.' For 'coin,' Matthew wrote 'denarius' (Matthew
22:19). When Jesus had taken it, he said, 'Whose inscription does it have?'
They answered and said, 'Caesar's.' And he said to them in turn, 'Give to
Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.'" (excerpt from HOMILY
ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 39.4-6)
MISSION-MINDED?
“...so that toward
the rising and the setting of the sun men may know that there is none besides
Me.” —Isaiah 45:6
On this World Mission Sunday, the Church inquires of us as Christians about our relationship to the nations of the world. We must give the nations what belongs to them (see Mt 22:21). Especially, we must give Jesus to the nations, for He belongs to all people, and we all belong to Him (see 1 Cor 3:21-23). Therefore, Jesus commands us to “make disciples of all the nations” (Mt 28:19) and “tell His glory among the nations” (Ps 96:3). We must “say among the nations: The Lord is King” (Ps 96:10) so that the “families of nations” may “give to the Lord glory and praise” (Ps 96:7).
Are you giving the nations their due? Do you pray daily for all nations “to be saved and come to know the truth?” (1 Tm 2:4) Do you love and befriend people from other nations in your schools, businesses, and neighbourhoods? Are you praying for yourself and others to become local or foreign missionaries? Do you give substantial offerings to further the Church’s missionary outreach?
One of Jesus’ last and greatest commandments is: “Make disciples of all the nations” (Mt 28:19). By grace, in love, and for Jesus — do it!
Prayer: Father, send the Spirit to make me a witness
for Jesus and a missionary (Acts 1:8).
“Our preaching of the gospel proved not a mere matter of words for you
but one of power; it was carried on in the Holy Spirit and out of complete
conviction.” —1 Thes 1:5. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His
mercy endures forever... Who remembered us in our abjection, for His mercy
endures forever” (Ps 136:1, 23).
The personal action
for today: Have I ever seen the Goodness of GOD come from some
unexpected person or place, especially from some purely secular source? Have I
been able to appreciate how GOD can work through apparently “unholy” means or
“unbelievers” to achieve Good? Do I fairly render to civil institutions what is
proper, i.e., do I pay taxes? How can I give back to GOD what is due? What can
I do to help others to return to the LORD GOD what belongs to GOD?