Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 145
Reading 1
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.
Responsorial Psalm
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.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
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.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
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.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
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.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Reading 2
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
It is good to remember that our God and our Lord Jesus Christ isn’t only the God of Christians or a select few people. He is the creator of all things, visible and invisible, and is therefore the God of all things and all peoples. There are those who refuse to recognize Him or outrightly oppose Him. This does not exempt them from encountering God, entering into a relationship with Him, or become benefactors of His participation in their lives. Yes, we are Christians and have recognized our birthright as His children, but we must also recognize that God has other children who have not fully embraced a relationship with Him. This can be considered their loss and something that will affect their lives and what it could become. But God is patient and merciful. He waited for us and He will definitely wait for all those who have yet to come to Him. In the meantime, God will continue to call to all of us, Christians and non-Christians alike, to return to Him and love Him just as He loves us all.
The worldly reaction to different religions and faith backgrounds is different than the reaction of God. With infinite patience, God will wait for each person to have a conversion of their heart and to orient themselves towards Him. This should come in the “renewal of the mind,” that the Apostle Paul talks about in his Letter to the Romans and his Letter to the Corinthians. First, to the Romans, he writes:
“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.a
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Paul urges that we give everything over to God. This includes all things that are physical in nature and come from this material world. All these things that are of this earth and not created by God must be purged from our experiences until only God Himself is left to fill the void. This can only be achieved through a “renewal of the mind,” which is in itself a transformative experience. This renewal leads to a “God first” focus which will then lead to better things. To the Cornithians, he continued,
“godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret, but worldly sorrow produces death.”
This salutary repentance comes in the form of “Metanoia,” which means a transformation of the mind. This transformation occurs when we finally sacrifice everything over to Him, and do everything, think everything, and experience everything in His name. Unfortunately, it is hard to get there. The obstacles and challenges are many, while it may feel like the relief and rewards are few and far between. The good news is that no one is expected to have this type of spiritual renewal immediately and without consequences. Instead of immediately, this comes progressively, slowly influencing our entire existence; entering completely into our conscious until it influences everything. This takes time. Thankfully, God loves us and is infinitely patient. He wants us to succeed and is always here to help us. Welcoming Him into our lives is trulely the answer.
Identifying as a Christian is only the first step in this process. There is much more to do after that initial recognition. Just because we call ourselves Christian, doesn’t mean the process is complete. There are those who might identify as Christian but still haven’t begun any of the hard work necessary. Consequently, there can be those who do not identify as Christian and maybe have not even entered into relationship with Jesus, that can be further along the path of Metanoia than some who call themselves Christians. It is the condition of the heart and soul that matters instead of the label given that is merely used to identify but not define. God is as patient with these individuals as much as He is patient with us. He has no need or urge to separate people in a variety of different categories. We as human beings and social creatures always do this, but God has no need or desire to do so.
In the First Reading today, God tells us through Isaiah that King Cyrus of the Persian Empire is “God’s Anointed.” He was chosen for a specific role by God. This included conquering the Babylonian Empire and initiating the building of the Second Temple; ending the Jewish Exile. King Cyrus was not Jewish and, of course, he was not a Christian. Yet, God tells us that He chose Him and specifically rose Him up to the highest of heights to do His will. Where does that leave King Cyrus in his relationship with God? We really do not know, except that God specifically said,
“ I
have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.”
So, when first utilized by God, King Cyrus was unaware of who God was. Yet, we also know that King Cyrus was known to give homage to all foreign gods that were present throughout his vast empire. We also know that the prophet Daniel prospered during the reign of King Cyrus and remained an advisor in his royal court According to ancient Jewish historian Josephus, Daniel likely showed Cyrus the centuries-old writings of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 44:26–45:7), which called Cyrus by name and predicted his role in freeing Jewish captives and allowing the Jerusalem Temple to be rebuilt. Where that relationship ended up, we don’t know. What is obvious though was that it was progressive and complex. Everyone’s journey to God will be just like King Cyrus’: we will be His instruments, and we will also be works in progressive; never being fully complete before we die.
We must focus on ourselves and our spiritual progress, separating that which is material in nature and focusing on things that are spiritual instead. There are some societal obligations that have to be met and this is a definite part of our spiritual journey: separating the two while keeping the spiritual aspect at a level of higher importance. Our overall conduct in corporal matters should reflect our overall spiritual fitness. Each has a part in our lives, with the spiritual needing to be the driving force, while things of the flesh follow; being influenced by our spiritual condition. A conditional balance can then be made where our spirituality influences our material matters, which our materialistic state has no bearing on our spirituality.
Deacon Tom
