Homily for the 29th Sun YR A TEXTS: Isa 45:1, 4-6; I Thes 1:1-5b; Matt 22: 15-21 Today’s readings show us how, with God’s help, we can be ideal citizens of both earth and Heaven. In the first reading, Isaiah the prophet declares that Cyrus, even though a pagan, was Gods instrument. The amazing fact is that God actually used Cyrus to restore His people to their homeland. God is able and willing to use ungodly powers to achieve His ends because He is the God not only of the Jews, but of history and of the whole world. Hence, He anointed Cyrus as a savior of His people. Cyrus carried out Gods plan by setting the Jewish exiles free and giving them permission to go back to Judah to rebuild their Temple and city. He also returned to them the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple. So a pagan emperor became, in God’s hand, the instrument by means of whom the people of Israel might return to their Promised Land. This passage also contains a new theological idea. To call this pagan king, “Messiah” or “Christos” meaning the Lords anointed (a title given exclusively to the kings, prophets and priests of the Chosen People), was quite revolutionary. Like other passages from Isaiah, it was meant to challenge the Jews parochialism and give them a more universal view of Gods concern and plan. The latter was what the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians who were the three prominent Jewish sects of Jesus’ day wanted to thwart in the gospel text. The Pharisees were rabid nationalists and totally anti-Roman while the Herodians were willing to collaborate with the Romans, hoping to benefit from them. Together with the chief priests, these three groups accused Jesus of “associating” with sinners and challenged his authority to teach in the Temple. This was an attempt to destroy Jesus influence with the people, either by discrediting him in the presence of the crowds or by causing him to make statements that would get him into trouble with the Romans. The Jews were forced to pay three types of tax to the Roman Emperor: the ground tax, the income tax and the census tax. Here, the question concerned the census tax. A census tax implied that, if one were a citizen, one owed the money to the Emperor. The Jews believed that they had only one Lord and Ruler and that was their God. Taxes, or any form of submission, should be made to Yahweh alone. Hence, the question which the Pharisees asked Jesus was intended to create a very real dilemma for him. If he said that it was unlawful to pay the tax, the Herodians and their allies would report him to the Roman officials, who would then arrest him as a revolutionary. If he said that it was lawful to pay the tax, the insurgents and their supporters would turn against him and he would be discredited in the eyes of the people who were against paying taxes to a pagan emperor. Jesus defeated their scheme by asking his challengers to show him “the coin of tribute” – the coin they would give to the tax-gatherer. By actually having a Roman coin in their possession, complete with Caesars image and Caesars inscription, the challengers had already shown where their loyalties lay. They had, in effect, answered their own question. Jesus, rather than answering their question directly, asked them a question, thus turning their trap inside out and upside down: “Whose image (eikon in Greek) and inscription are these?” (The census tax was paid with a denarius coin, which contained the image of the Emperor on one side with the inscription “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus”—and on the other his title “Pontifex Maximus” (high priest). Thus, Caesar claimed not only political sovereignty but also divine attributes. Therefore, the Jews considered the image idolatrous and the inscription blasphemous). “Caesar’s,” they said. Jesus then said, Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and to God what belongs to God. In other words, we give to the Emperor the coin because his image is on it, and we give to God our own selves because we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Jesus’ answer acknowledges our obligation as citizens to the state, but affirms our larger obligation to God. Both the state and God require certain loyalties from us, but we owe God our very lives. By birth we become the citizens of the country of our birth, and by Baptism we become the citizens of Heaven. In every age, Christians are faced with balancing the demands of Caesar with the commands of God. Jesus’ answer forms the guiding principle in solving the problems that arise from our dual citizenship, belonging to God and to our country. As Christians, we are to obey the government, even when it is pagan and non-Christian. A loyal Christian is always a loyal citizen. Failure in good citizenship is also failure in Christian duty. We fulfill our duties to our country by loyally obeying the just laws of the State, by paying all lawful taxes, and by contributing our share, whenever called on, toward the common good. Similarly, we fulfill our duties to God by being faithful, loyal, active members of the spiritual Kingdom of God, the Church, which Christ established on earth. Thus, a real Christian is at one and the same time a good citizen of his country and a good citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, but his priority is his allegiance to God. As citizens in a multicultural, multi-religious country we respect other religious traditions. We take care not to mix religion and politics. Some Nigerians tend to see in Jesus’ answer an argument for the separation of church and state. But such an idea made no sense in first-century Mediterranean culture. It is true that there are times when the demand for the separation of church and state appears to leave our civil life without moral direction. But the experience of political history since the time of Jesus makes it clear that mixing the two jeopardizes civil liberty as well as religious freedom. In a democracy, the citizens do not serve the state -- the state serves the people. The elected government officials are public servants. Hence Christians, like other citizens, are free to criticize their government, to seek to change its policies, to remove office-holders whose representation is invalid, and to seek new benefits and protections for the welfare of the people. This behooves us who are educated to create awareness on the need for our people to have the national identity card and the voters card to carry out the latter. Our political liberty also secures our freedom from religious tyranny and unwonted political interference in religious matters. LIFE APPLICATIONS 1) “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”: How? Like it or not, it is the duty of Christians to pay taxes for the services and the privileges that government provides. Another way of giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s is to participate actively in the forthcoming elections by electing the most suitable candidates and influencing them through frequent contacts. Third, we must submit to the civil authorities and respect the laws of our country in order to live in peace. As loyal citizens, we must also see to it that our elected representatives are faithful in maintaining law and order in the country and in promoting the welfare of its citizens. When the state oversteps the mark and puts itself in the place of God, Christians are, as a last resort, absolved from obedience. We must give to Caesar the things that are Caesars and not the things that are Gods. We must “obey God rather than human beings.” 2) “Give to God what is God’s.” How? Since everything is God’s, we must give ourselves to Him 100%, not just 10% on Sundays. We should be generous in fulfilling our Sunday obligations and find time every day for prayer and worship in the family, for the reading of the Bible and the proper training of our children in Faith and morals. St. Augustine teaches that when we truly succeed in giving to God what is Gods, we are doing justice to God. This requires that we return to God, with dividends, that which God has entrusted to us, remembering that we are mere managers or stewards of God’s gifts. Our contribution to the parish Church should be an expression of our gratitude to God, giving back to God all that he has given us. This will help us to combat the powerful influence of materialism in our lives and enable the Church to do God’s work. Our cash offerings signify our commitment to the ministries of the Gospel, the activities of the Risen Lord. Every pledge enables and empowers ministry. Every pledge, every naira, touches a human life and brings it closer to God. Every pledge, every naira given, is transformed into love for someone else and for ourselves. Active participation in the various activities of the parish is the offering to God of our time and talents. But what we get in our day and age is people giving excess to Caesar and leaving God empty handed. Imagine how much money people spend taking care of their bodies and houses and how much time they give to their souls’ nourishment. There is no doubt that we often prefer Caesar to God; in fact we often take what belongs to God and give to some Caesars in our lives. The Caesars here represents those things that stands in opposition to us when it comes to our relationship with God. They stand for those things that consume our time and resources to the detriment of what we owe God. There are obviously many Caesars around us and we ought to make effort to revive and reconsider our dues to God. 3) When he says, Give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods, Jesus is asking us whether we have invested our heart in the right place, in something worthy of our lifes blood, something that will yield a return thats worthy of a whole human life. There is only one way to find out where our hearts are. Let us check our daily choices, the little ones as well the big ones, and look for the patterns: What do we usually do when decision time comes for where we will spend our prime time and our best energies? These are the infallible indicators of what we truly value, and what we dont. Whose image do others see when they look at our life? When people see us, do they see Jesus engraved upon us? Have a juicy Sunday! NB: Pls offer mass for my intention.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:34:55 +0000
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