Sunday 18 October 2026 – XXIX Week in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Mass Readings: Is
45:1.4-6 Ps 96 1Thess 1:1-5 Mt 22:15-21
Key
Verse to Meditate:
"Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to
God the things that are God's." (Mt 22:21).
The First Reading-
Is 45:1.4-6
This passage highlights God’s supreme sovereignty over all
nations and earthly leaders. God speaks to Cyrus, the powerful King of
Persia, anointing and empowering him to conquer nations and free the Israelites
from exile. Even though Cyrus is a pagan king who does not know or worship
the Lord, God uses him as an instrument to fulfil His divine plan for His
chosen people, Israel. The ultimate purpose of this action is to
reveal to the entire world, from east to west, that He is the one true God and
there is no other.
The Second Reading
- 1Thess 1:1-5
In the opening of his letter, Paul, along with Silvanus and
Timothy, expresses deep gratitude for the Christian community in Thessalonica. He continuously praises
them for their active faith, their labour driven by love, and their steadfast
endurance fuelled by hope in Jesus Christ. Paul assures the Thessalonians that they
are chosen and deeply loved by God. He reminds them that the Gospel message they received did not
come merely as human words, but was delivered with the transformative power and
deep conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Connection Between
the First and Second Readings: The Israelites Belong to God
God often reminded the Israelites that they
belong to Him and must worship Him alone. This is powerfully illustrated in
today's first reading from the prophet Isaiah: "For the sake of my
servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you,
though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me
there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, so that they may know,
from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other" (Is 45:4-6). God was always
guiding them, but they needed to remember and cultivate their primary
allegiance to Yahweh, distinguishing it from their obligations to earthly
emperors.
What belongs to God cannot be used for secular
purposes, a commandment that must be lived out deeply in our personal lives. To
achieve this, we must eagerly receive the Word of God, just as the
Thessalonians did. St. Paul convinced the Thessalonians that, just as Jesus
preached with the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit, he too was imparting
the Word of God in both word and deed. As a result, they received the Gospel
message with profound joy: "And you became imitators of us and of the
Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by
the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess 1:6).
The Gospel Reading (Mt 22:15-21)
This
Sunday’s Gospel passage occurs immediately after the parable of the king who
hosted a great wedding banquet for his son. The Pharisees undoubtedly
understood the parable’s moral—especially Jesus’ concluding statement, "For
many are called, but few are chosen"—as a direct attack against them.
The very next verse reveals their reaction: "Then the Pharisees went
and plotted to entrap him in what he said" (Mt 22:15).
Executing
this plot, they sent their disciples, along with the Herodians, to question
Jesus. Before launching their attack, they attempted to flatter Him: "Teacher,
we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with
truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with
partiality" (Mt 22:16). Externally, they showed a feigned respect by
calling Him "Teacher." Jesus did, indeed, teach them the truth about
the Kingdom of God, but they were too proud to accept it. They then posed a
carefully constructed question to trap Him: "Is it lawful to pay taxes
to the emperor, or not?" (Mt 22:17).
The Calculated Dilemma of the Pharisees
The
Pharisees' hypocritical dilemma was shrewdly calculated: If Jesus affirmed that
paying tribute to a foreign, idolatrous state was lawful, He would lose the favor
of the Jewish people who deeply resented Roman occupation. Certain sects within
Judaism fought tooth and nail against Roman authority, viewing it as pagan and
blasphemous. They even despised their own tax collectors for serving this
oppressive foreign power. Conversely, if Jesus declared the tax illegal, He
could be immediately arrested and tried for inciting sedition against Rome. We
must remember that when the chief priests and elders eventually brought Jesus
before Pilate, one of their primary accusations was precisely this: "We
found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the
emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king" (Lk 23:2).
Jesus, the Divine Presence Amidst the People
However,
Jesus—the divine presence of God amidst them—knew their malicious intentions.
Without mincing words, He called them hypocrites. The petty shrewdness of the
Pharisees was no match for divine wisdom. He asked them to show Him the coin
used for the tax, and they brought Him a denarius.
Roman
coins bore the emperor’s image, symbolizing loyalty and the reach of his
earthly kingdom. This is why, during the cleansing of the temple, Jesus had to
overturn the tables of the money changers: "Then Jesus entered the
temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he
overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold
doves" (Mt 21:12). Money changers were necessary in the temple
courtyard because Roman coins bearing the emperor’s graven image were
considered idolatrous and could not be used for sacred offerings; they had to
be exchanged for acceptable temple currency.
Render to God the Things That Are God's
Examining
the coin, the Pharisees admitted to Jesus that the head and title belonged to
the emperor. Material wealth is of this world and falls under the jurisdiction
of earthly rulers. Therefore, Jesus delivered His profound verdict: "Give
therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the
things that are God's" (Mt 22:21). No better answer could have been
conceived. Caught completely off guard, they were rendered speechless. The
final verse of today’s Gospel notes, "When they heard this, they were
amazed; and they left him and went away" (Mt 22:22).
Jesus
was not opposed to fulfilling civic duties, such as paying taxes to a
legitimate authority. His directive to "render unto Caesar" remains
valid today. Jesus was not a violent revolutionary; He taught that His
disciples must fulfill their earthly civic obligations. The early Church
clearly understood and adopted this teaching (Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pt 2:13-17), and it
remains the teaching of the Church today.
Yet,
the most decisive and challenging part of Jesus' response—the part that truly
indicted the Pharisees—was the second half: "And to God the things that
are God's." Adoration and worship are due to God alone. Neither the
State nor any other worldly power can claim the absolute devotion that belongs
exclusively to the Creator.
The Ultimate Witness of a Christian Disciple
Martyrdom
is the supreme expression of Christian resistance against any temporal power
that attempts to usurp God's place (Rev 20:4). We must give to God what belongs
to God—and ultimately, everything belongs to God, the Creator. For this
reason, God cannot be excluded from the building of our earthly societies. True
leadership and the pursuit of a better world are impossible without Him. Over
the centuries, many have tragically attempted to marginalize God under the
guise of elevating humanity. The result has often been catastrophic; removing
God from our lives leads only to spiritual and moral ruin.
"Render
to God what is God's" means recognizing that above Caesar and the State
exists a much higher order. We must return to God what is rightfully His:
absolutely everything, for "the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in
it" (Ps 24:1). We are called to offer our whole selves to Him (Rom
12:1) and place Him firmly at the center of our lives. Caesar has authority
over the coin because his image is stamped upon it. But God has supreme
authority over humanity because every human being is stamped with the image of
God. The power of earthly sovereigns is limited to the circumference of a coin,
but the primacy of God in a believer's life is an absolute, boundless
principle.
Our Duty Towards God
Jesus
firmly reminded His listeners of their duty to God. God does not need our
money; He desires our hearts. We must worship Him with true, internal devotion,
not limiting our lives to the mere pursuit of wealth. Genuine love for God
naturally overflows into love for our neighbors. This is why, during His
debates with the Pharisees regarding ritual purity, Jesus urged them to give
from the heart: "So give for alms those things that are within; and
see, everything will be clean for you" (Lk 11:41). Giving back to God
is the natural consequence of discovering your true identity. When you look
into your own soul and recognize the image of the Lord stamped upon it, you
realize who you truly are: His beloved child.
Points for Personal Reflection
- Do I render to God
what rightfully belongs to Him?
- I have been
"stamped" with God’s image and likeness. Do I live my life in a
way that reflects this profound truth?
- Everything belongs to God because He is the Creator of all. Do I truly acknowledge that my life, my talents, and my possessions belong entirely to Him and not to myself
