10-18-26, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
29th
Sunday of Ordinary Time
10-18-26
In the first reading this weekend we read how Cyrus, the
pagan king of Babylon, becomes the instrument through which God will work to
free the Jews, from the bondage they experienced during their Babylonian exile which was imposed on
them by Cyrus’s predecessor,
Nebuchadnezzar. Through Isaiah words we
understand that God inspired Cyrus to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem
where they will rebuild their city and
temple and thereby be able to worship
God in their own way. “For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel,
my chosen one, I have called you by your name, (i.e., Cyrus) giving you a
title, though you knew me not. I am the Lord and there is no other.” (Isaiah
45:4-6) Reflecting on this first
reading can make us wonder who in our
lives has been used by God to help us, to rescue us, to teach us of the
closeness of our God to us?
Perhaps, it was parents, or
grandparents that witnessed to us first, this nearness of God to us. Perhaps it was a special Sunday school
teacher, or a priest that inspired us to seek a closer relationship with
God. Perhaps, God worked through a
friend touched our hearts and made it turn to him. The point is that God is always watching out
for us but at times we do not see that reality, that presence except in
hindsight. And even that hindsight is a
grace by which God enables us to see his nearness and caring for us. The power of this realization comes often through the Holy Spirit
reaching out to us in order for us to make the connection between ourselves
and God.
St. Paul references this power of the spirit in his letter to the
Thessalonians, in the second readings this weekend when he says-“Our Gospel did
not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and
with much conviction.” Paul often made this contrast between mere
words and the power of the Spirit; for instance, he writes (in 1 Cor. 4:20),
“The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”1 What
power? The power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is like electricity; that he supplies to our power shortage1.
It is this power, this breath of the
Holy Spirit that empowers the church at all of her levels to be faithful to
Christ and to be missionaries of Christ wherever we are. It happens when we come to church, yes, but
also, it happens in prisons when inmates
gather to reflect upon the bible. It
happens in nursing homes and hospital when doctors, nurses, and aides, as
followers of Christ, minister to the sick and disabled in the name of
Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit is
like electricity it flows through us and connect us to the ultimate power of
God.2 That connection has the
potential to create the greatest energy in the world. That energy becomes evident when his followers are people of love, of peace, of compassion. Such people as these shine the light of God’s
brilliance all over the earth. In
the gospel this Sunday those in authority think they have found a way to trick
Jesus into a situation where he will either be condemned by the Romans if
he says not to pay the tax to Rome. Or
he will be rejected by the Jews because he sides with the Romans and feels the
Jews need to support Ceasar with his taxation.
His response is most disarming
for both for the Jews and those in authority, like the temple leaders. This response of Jesus is similar to a more modern-day story like
this one. The English Catholic
philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe had a sixteen-year-old daughter who was arrested
and hauled into court for publicly protesting abortion too close to a “bubble
zone” near an abortion clinic. She rejected the offer of a public defender and
defended herself in court. The judge lectured her: “I know you are a Catholic.
You are here in court because you have forgotten one of the things that your
teacher Jesus said about the relation between religion and politics: ‘Render to
Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Miss Anscombe replied: “The bodies of our
unborn children do not belong to Caesar.” 2 Both this story and this gospel are also directed to us to think about the things we hold an allegiance to. Allegiance in this sense means what is it or
what are the things we offer our deepest loyalty or devotion to. That allegiance may be one of money
fame, or the success of being accepted by others (i.e., being
popular). Our gospel this weekend asks of us to reflect upon what is it that we
owe to God first and foremost, and then
what is it that we owe to employers, family, friends, our government, our
political parties, etc.? This was the
cornerstone of Jesus' message to his disciples and those who wished to follow
him when he said- “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy
of me.” (Matt 10:37); “No one can serve two masters (Matt 6:24); “Whoever
wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
(Matt16:24); and finally, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God
what belongs to God.” (Matt 22:21) Hopefully, many that day, who came to trip Jesus up, walked away from Jesus’ words with a need
to reflect deeply on what his answer meant and how they were living their
lives. Perhaps, many who will hear these
words this weekend, will also sit and ponder what is the answer that they will
give to Jesus thru the actions of their lives. Throughout the course of his missionary journey Jesus challenged people
by his words, and his stories. But it
was always left to those who wished to
follow him to decide- who is it who will
hold the first place in their lives?
His question for us also is to
ponder the same question he asked
of his apostles after many people had
deserted him because they felt his teachings were too difficult, too
impractical, too other worldly. And
that question was “Do you also want to leave?” (John 6:67)
2.
Ibid p.805
3.
Ibid, pp. 807-808
