I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings and Gospel Reflection Reading 1 Isiah 45:1, 4-6 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred: For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel, my chosen one, I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun people may know that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other. Responsorial Psalm Psalms 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10 R/ (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor. Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all you lands. Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. R/ Give the Lord glory and honor. For great is the LORD and highly to be praised; awesome is he, beyond all gods. For all the gods of the nations are things of nought, but the LORD made the heavens. R/ Give the Lord glory and honor. Give to the LORD, you families of nations, give to the LORD glory and praise; give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts, and enter his courts. R/ Give the Lord glory and honor. Worship the LORD, in holy attire; tremble before him, all the earth; say among the nations: The LORD is king, he governs the peoples with equity. R/ Give the Lord glory and honor. Reading 2 1 Thes 1:1-5b Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen. For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction. Gospel Mt 22:15-21 The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyones opinion, for you do not regard a persons status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Knowing their malice, Jesus said, Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax. Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, Whose image is this and whose inscription? They replied, Caesars. At that he said to them, Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2014, whose website is located at dailyscripture.net Meditation: What do we owe God and our neighbor? 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 trouble-maker and have him arrested. Coins inscribe the owners 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 Gods image and likeness This story has another deeper meaning as well. We, too, have been stamped with Gods 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) The following reflection is courtesy of Presentation Ministries (c) 2014. Their website is located at presentationministries 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 asks us as Christians what our relationship is 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 neighborhoods? Are you praying for yourself and others to become local or foreign missionaries? Do you give substantial offerings to further the Churchs 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). Promise: 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 Praise: Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to Him now and to the day of eternity! (2 Pt 3:18)
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 10:04:18 +0000
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