Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Readings

• First Reading Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
• Responsorial Psalm Psalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
• Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
• Gospel Matthew 22:15-21

Open the readings on USCCB.org →

Step Into the Story

Imagine being one of God's people in exile in Babylon, far from home, the Temple in ruins. Then, in 539 BC, Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylon and lets them go home (Ezra 1). Isaiah sees God's hand even in a pagan king. That is how faithful the Lord is: he can use anyone to bring his children home. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, written around AD 50, is probably the oldest book of the New Testament, a letter of love to a young church.

In the Gospel, two groups who disliked each other, the Pharisees, who resented Rome, and the Herodians, who supported Herod's Rome-backed family, come together to trap Jesus. The tax was paid with a silver denarius bearing the face of Emperor Tiberius and calling his predecessor divine. Notice that Jesus does not carry such a coin. His questioners do.

Meet Christ

Put yourself in the Temple courtyard. The questioners smile too much and flatter too loudly. They have rehearsed this trap. Watch Jesus. He is not rattled. He asks for a coin, turns it over in his hand, and looks up at them, and at you. "Whose image is this?"

His heart is not set on winning an argument. He wants these men back, and he wants you. Caesar can have his coin, because Caesar stamped it. But you bear the image of the Father, and Jesus has come to reclaim what belongs to God. He is not asking for a portion of your life. He is asking for you.

This week, give something to God that you have kept for yourself: a block of time, a grudge, a habit. Each morning, look in the mirror and say quietly, "I belong to you, Lord."

The Church Teaches

Called to the Common Good

Everyone is called to promote the common good, each according to his position and role, a duty flowing from your dignity as a person (CCC 1913). It begins with family and conscientious work (CCC 1914).

The Duties of Citizens

Paying taxes, voting and defending your country are moral obligations of co-responsibility for the common good (CCC 2240). But you are bound in conscience not to follow directives contrary to the moral order or the Gospel (CCC 2242).

Caesar Is Not Lord

From the beginning, Christians have confessed that Caesar is not "the Lord." You may never submit your freedom absolutely to any earthly power, only to God (CCC 450).

Faithful Citizenship

This week, carry out one civic duty on purpose (CCC 2240), and pray for those who govern, as the Church always has (CCC 1900).