Gospel Reflection 2019/2020
29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
18 Oct 2020
[Matthew 22: 15-21]
As the hostility towards Jesus is boiling up, the Pharisees, together with the Herodians, try to interrogate Jesus with the intention to trap Him in what He says. They bring to Him this question, “Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
Jesus, knowing very well their malice and evil intention, asks them for a coin and says, “Whose head is this? Whose name?”
To which, they answer, “Caesar’s.”
And here comes Jesus’ famous reply, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar - and to God what belongs to God.”
Over the centuries, these words of Jesus have always been quoted and misquoted, interpreted and misinterpreted. Many claim that Jesus is drawing the boundary, separating faith from public life – and thus the Holy Church ‘should not’ get involved or take part in state affairs.
No, that is not what Jesus is telling us! In fact, Jesus, with His reply, turns the question back on His interrogators - taking the discussion beyond the level of partisanship to a deeper reality: “Whose head is this? Whose name?”
“Whose head (image) is this? Whose name?” are the questions we all need to answer.
1) In the Creed, we profess “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible…” By His Word, God created all things out of nothingness and holds all things in existence. And God created human beings in His image and likeness. Everything carries within itself the signature (name) of God; every human being carries within him (or her) the image of God. Therefore, everything and everyone belongs to God. There is nothing which ‘belongs to Caesar’ which does not belong to God.
2) ‘To God what belongs to God’. Yes, we must obey the earthly authorities. But the obedience to God comes before the obedience to man [Act 5: 29]. To quote St Thomas More: “I die the king's faithful servant, but God's first.” For what matters most for us Christians is to please God: God must always have the highest priority in all. We must, first and foremost, pledge our undivided loyalty to God. He alone must be the anchor of our life.
3) ‘Give back to Caesar’ means we must, at least, register as a voter, stay informed and formed, and to vote in the country and state elections. ‘Give back to Caesar’ means to work with the elected government and authorities for the common good. As Christians, it is our responsibilities to participate in nation building, to ensure good and transparent governance, and to uphold and safeguard the sanctity of human life and human dignity.
4) Christ is our Head. We are His Body. By His name, we are CHRIST-ians. As Christians, Jesus must be the centre of our life. He must permeate every aspects of our life. All that we say and do must be directed to the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls. There are far too many of us, who claim to be Christians, yet behaving and living as though God does not exist. We render to God lip service, but our hearts are far away from Him. ‘To God what belongs to God’ calls for a continual conversion of heart and mind. ‘To God what belongs to God’ means to surrender to Him, totally and unreservedly - our body, mind and soul.
Let our fervent prayer be:
“Lord Jesus Christ, teach me to serve You as You deserve!”