"I am the Lord, there is no other"

 

TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY

IN ORDINARY TIME

21-22 October – Holy Spirit Parish

Is 45:1, 4-6

1 Thes 1:1-5b

Mt 22:15-21

       Praised be Jesus Christ!

       “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, Cyrus… 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.”

       Big Cyrus, the pagan conqueror, who lets Israel return to the Promised Land, without them lifting a finger, after 70 years in Babylonian captivity. The prophet Isaiah tells us that this was God’s doing. 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. Cyrus was God’s chosen instrument to restore Israel to its home. Over the course of time it has never proved easy for people, even people of faith, to grasp that our God does indeed rule the universe and guide the course of history. Not an easy truth, but a truth just the same: God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ rules the universe. If we could always and everywhere profess that truth we would not live so anxiously, burdens would be easier to carry, and we just might live more consistently in hope.

       In the Gospel of Matthew today, the Pharisees would seem to give the impression that they are in charge of their people’s fate. “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”      Their “us-against-the-world” attitude, so to speak, is a good part of what got the Pharisees to hold to the letter of the law and simply insist on keeping the conquering Romans at arm’s length, as if it were unthinkable to grant the Romans a place in God’s plan for His people Israel, to recognize the oppressor’s place in determining the fate of the people not only for bad but also for good. When asked to declare Himself for one party or the other, to choose between the Romans and the observance of the Law, Jesus confounds the Pharisees in His response to their challenge by speaking to the reality of Israel’s situation of subjection to Rome. “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

       As evident or obvious as Jesus’ response was, it was for the Pharisees and is in similar situations in our world a case of thinking outside the box. Most people are immediate and political in their approach to life. In living just for the present moment not many people actually grapple with the big questions in life, at least not with those dealing with the power and presence of God in our world. Our attitude seems to be one more inspired by the workings of politics or of the debate platform, and hence motivated by the quest for short-term gains. In the light of this Sunday’s readings, I think we should rather focus on the role of divine providence in our lives, about God’s will being done in all things despite the impression we might have that He the Lord is seemingly absent from the bigger picture.

       I don’t think there is a day which goes by in a social setting when someone doesn’t complain to me about either people in civil government or in church government. They let their nerves get frayed over things beyond their control. This situation on the southern border or that comment by some politician has them all up in arms, filled with disgust, and really at their wit’s ends. Very few of them seem to take consolation from the suggestion that it might be better to spend much less time following the news.

       The phrase “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” is not calculating and does not represent a political stance, but it does speak to the reality of things. From little on, we are taught to pray for rain in due season and to pray for a bountiful harvest. It makes sense in that these are things beyond our control. The longer I live in this world of ours, the clearer it becomes to me that praying the Lord to grant wisdom and grace to our leaders is a no less worthwhile prayer intention. The more disinformation we encounter out there in the world the more sense it makes to beg the Lord to place His mighty Hand on all those who wield the scepter of power in our world.

       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.

       Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as the psalmist says. May those who love you prosper!

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