Daily Reflection – Oct 22, 2017

Sunday 22 October 2017

First Reading:IS 45:1, 4-6
Responsorial Psalm:
Give the Lord glory and honor.
PS 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
Second Reading: 1 THES 1:1-5B
Gospel Reading: MT 22:15-21

Today’s Note: Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel Reading:

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.”

Reflection:

Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. (Matthew 22:21)

Do you see the trap these Pharisees were setting when they asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar? If he had said that the tax was not lawful, he would have been branded as a revolutionary and a threat to the Romans. If he had said that the tax was lawful, he would have been branded as a collaborator with the oppressive imperial regime.

Jesus saw right through the trap (Matthew 22:18). Instead of falling for it, he gave them a simple yet profound answer—one that still asks us where we stand.

“What belongs to God” is all of his creation: the plants and animals of the earth, the stars of the sky, the sea and everything in it. And of course, his people—all of us. As the stars shine and the moon glows, as the birds sing and the trees bloom, they give glory to God. How much more should we, who are the crown of God’s creation, give him glory and honor? This is how we “repay to

. . . God what belongs to God”—by worshipping him, by following his commandments, and by reaching out to care for his loved ones.

What about repaying to Caesar? Does it mean paying taxes so that police keep the peace, school buses run, and towns can care for the needy through social programs? Yes it does, and much more. That’s because the way we “repay to God” should affect the way we “repay to Caesar.” It should move us to find ways to care for the poor and homeless, to visit the sick and the elderly, and to lift up the lonely. It should move us to work toward transforming our towns and cities step-by-step. It should move us to take care of people, not just pay our taxes.

So what can you do for “Caesar” today?

“Here I am, Lord. Teach me how to change my corner of the world.”