Sunday Lectionary: King of kings
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 16th, 2011
This week’s Readings focus on the distinction between the kings of this world and the LORD. The Gospel asks us the question: what do we owe to our rulers and what do we owe to our God?
In the First Reading we learn that it is the Lord, and not the King of Persia, who is subduing the nations. In the Psalm we are told repeatedly to give the Lord the praise which He is owed. In the Second Reading we hear the response of the Thessalonians to God’s great grace. Finally, in the Gospel we are told in no uncertain terms – give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but give to God what belongs to God…
Reading I: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
At the time of Isaiah, King Cyrus of Persia was the most powerful man in the world. He would eventually issue the order to release the Jews from captivity and allow them to return from Babylon to Israel (Ezra 1:1-4). In this passage the Prophet makes it clear to Cyrus (as indeed it should be obvious to every ruler) that any power he has is given to him by God. It is the Lord who is truly in charge.
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.
Questions:
- Where are we told Cyrus’ power comes from? What does this show us?
- Was Cyrus a worshiper of the Lord?
Commentary:
“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, …”
The word “anointed” and “Messiah” are related. By saying that Cyrus is “anointed”, God is saying that he has blessed him and is using him as an instrument of His will.
It is important to remember here that Cyrus, the King of Persia is a Gentile.
“…whose right hand I grasp…”
This means that the Lord is strengthening Cyrus and guiding him. Imagine a tennis instructor guiding the stroke of a young student…
“…subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred”
It is the Lord who takes credit for these victories.
“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”
It’s odd for the Lord to support Cyrus since the King doesn’t worship Yahweh, but instead worships Marduk, the chief Babylonian deity. In this verse God gives his reason for supporting the Persian King. He is doing it for love of His people.
The “title” here may be “anointed”
In this instance the Lord is using Cyrus to help Israel, but in other instances He uses other nations to punish Israel (2 Maccabees 6:7-16). In our Gospel Reading this week we are reminded that, at the time of Jesus, Israel was under Roman occupation…
“I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me”
Similar to Sinai and the beginning of the Ten Commandments.
“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”
The “rising and the setting of the sun” means the entire world. The Lord says that he has worked through Cyrus so that the world will know the Lord.
“I am the LORD, there is no other.”
Just in case we didn’t get the point… 😉
Responsorial Psalm Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
Today’s psalm is a call to all the nations to praise the Lord for all the wonderful things he has done.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Questions:
- What is the invitation of this psalm?
- What are the “courts” mentioned?
Commentary:
“…all you lands”
I’m not really sure about this translation. I think “all the earth” would be better since this psalm has a global perspective.
“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”
This is the reason to sing to the Lord – He alone is God.
“Bring gifts, and enter his courts”
The “courts” referred to here are the courts of the Temple.
“…tremble before him, all the earth”
Tremble in awe.
Reading II: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
Last week we came to the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We will now begin to work through Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. This letter is a pastoral letter from Paul to the newly-founded church in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9) primarily to encourage them in their faith. Today’s Second Reading includes the first few sentences from this letter…
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.
Questions:
- What can you remember about the church of the Thessalonians?
- What is the significance of Paul saying “grace…and peace”?
- When does Paul say that he remembers the Thessalonians? What might we learn from this?
- What virtues do the Thessalonians posses?
- How does Paul say that the Gospel came to the Thessalonians? What does this mean?
Commentary:
“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians”
St. Paul we know. “Silvanus” is a Latin transcription of Silas, the prophet from Jerusalem. Timothy is Paul’s spiritual son from Lystra (Acts 16:1-4) to whom Paul later writes two letters (1 & 2 Timothy). All three of these founded the Church in Thessalonica during Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (Acts 17:1-9).
“…in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…”
Paul describes the church’s relationship as being united together in God. This close union is expressed in Paul’s use the word “brothers” in twenty-eight instances across both of his letters to the Thessalonians.
“…grace to you and peace”
This is a standard New Testament greeting, combining the Greek idea of “grace” and the Hebrew concept of “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”
Paul says that they always remember the Thessalonians when their pray.
Paul highlights the theological virtues “faith…love and…hope”. It is clear that “faith” here produces action. The “hope” described is not just wishful thinking but complete confidence in God.
“…knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen”
They were chosen before time
“For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction”
This describes the manner in which the Thessalonians received the Word of the Lord. The “power” referred to here could either be the transformative power of the Gospel or miraculous signs through the Holy Spirit.
Gospel: Matthew 22:15-21
Today’s Gospel is a continuation from last week. Days before Jesus’ Passion the Pharisees and the Herodians, unusual allies, come together in an attempt to get Jesus into trouble…
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 anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s 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, “Caesar’s.”
At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
Questions:
- Who were the Pharisees and the Herodians? Why do they make strange partners? Why was Jesus a threat to both of them?
- What would have happened if Jesus had answered “Yes”? What about if he had answered “No”?
- How instead does Jesus answer? What does this mean?
- We hear in the media a lot about “Church and State”. What does Jesus have to say on the matter?
- In your own life what do you owe to “Caesar” and what do you owe to God?
Comments:
“The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech”
This is in response to the damning message of last week’s Gospel about the Marriage Feast.
“They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians…”
These are unusual allies.
The Herodians were supporters of King Herod and were comfortable with the Roman presence since the Romans kept their King in power.
The Pharisees were nationalists and extremely resistant to Roman occupation, although they advocated passive resistance (unlike the Zealots who wanted insurrection). The Pharisees particularly despised Herod because he wasn’t the rightful heir to the throne and an Edomite.
“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 anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion…”
They begin with flattery. Pseudo Chrysostom wrote, referring to this verse:
“This is the commonest act of hypocrites, to commend those they would ruin”
“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
Answering either “Yes” or “No” would have caused problems for Jesus:
“Yes”: If Jesus had said that it was lawful to pay the census taxes to the Romans, the Pharisees would have denounced Him as a traitor to His people.
“No”: However, if Jesus had said that it wasn’t lawful to pay the tax, then the Herodians would have reported him as a revolutionary. Interestingly, at His trial Jesus is actually accused of giving this response, even though He actually didn’t:
And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” – Luke 23:2
So how does Jesus get out of this problem? If he answers “yes” he’s in trouble… If he answers “no” he’s in trouble… Instead he pulls a Judo move…
Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.”
Pseudo Chrysostom comments on this verse saying:
“He makes an answer not corresponding to the smooth tone of their address, but harsh, suitable to their cruel thoughts; for God answers men’s hearts, and not their words”
They are hypocrites because he can see into their souls and see their real intentions.
Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.”
The coin here is a “denarius” with the image of Tiberius Caesar. On one side of the coin was his image and on the other was an inscription which read “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus”.
At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
Jesus avoids their trap. He draws a very clear distinction between Caesar and God, thus also making it very clear that Caesar was not divine.
There is a sense in which a coin belongs to the person whose image it bears. Since the “image” was that of Caesar, it belonged to him. He was the one who issued the coins and therefore it was legitimate to return them to him.
If the coins belonged to Caesar because they bore his image, what then belongs to God? What has been stamped with His image? We are! We belong to God because we were made in his image:
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them – Genesis 1:27
…as well as through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit:
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit – 2 Corinthians 3:18
…and we also belong to Him because we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ:
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
…with our goal to become like Jesus:
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters – Romans 8:29
Finally, here is what St. Paul had to say on the subject:
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law – Romans 13:6-8
Let the arguments about politics begin!