Commentary
Sunday, 10/18/2020, Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
No Worldly Power Can Save Us
First Reading Commentary: Isaiah 45:1, 4-5
In order to understand today’s prophecy from Isaiah; there are two things to know. 1- The time that this prophecy was foretold and the timing of the events that Isaiah made reference to took place in the early seven hundreds BC at the end of the Divided Kingdom Period as the Israelites went into exile. 2- Cyrus was the King of Persia and was anointed by God. Right away, we have to ask the question, “Why did God anoint a Non-Israelite to be king of the Israelites and what was his mission?”
I will comment on two reasons why God chose Cyrus. First, God wanted the Israelites to know that no worldly king could be the true Messiah. No worldly king could save them and no worldly king could be perfect. But the Israelites had demanded a king in spite of being warned against having a worldly king like other nations. God answered their call and now God wanted them to see the error of their ways. Refer to 1 Samuel 8 1-22. For that matter, God wanted all of mankind throughout the ages to understand these things.
Second, God wanted to show that He could do anything and could use anyone to carry out His Will. God had the power to anoint whoever He wanted to anoint. Cyrus was blessed with this power by God and without God he could not have any power. Even so, Cyrus was a worldly king and once again, no worldly king could take care of the Israelites as God could take care of them. Only God could provide for all of their needs. All that the Israelites had, came from Him.
God used Cyrus to allow the Israelites to rebuild the temple so that the Israelites would have the temple as a place to worship Him. What’s more, God used Cyrus to have all of the treasures that had been taken away from the temple by king Nebuchadnezzar returned to the Israelites so that they could be placed in the new temple where they belonged. Refer to Ezra chapters 1 and 3.
Isaiah’s prophecy is clear about the events which had already taken place and the three messages from God in these events. 1- It is God who anointed Cyrus, the Persian king, to rule the world at that time. 2- God is all powerful, capable of doing anything and He can use anyone to bring about His Will. 3- There is but one God who will save His people and no other God. Furthermore, there is no way for God’s people to be saved except by Him.
One might meditate on the question of how we can apply this prophecy to today’s world. But I think that it is more important to meditate on how we can apply this prophecy to ourselves because the world will not change unless we change ourselves from within by increasing our faith.
We have a habit of letting ourselves believe that we can solve our problems by ourselves and in our own way using physical means and the philosophies which are considered to be consistent with the times. Sadly, some of the most avid church goers make this mistake. Some of us are quick to say that we give things up to God and put them in His hands but then we fall victim to the weakness of our humanity.
For example: we may have a financial problem and we pray asking for God’s help knowing better than to ask God for money. Instead, we should ask that the burden be lifted off of our shoulders or we should ask for the wisdom and the vision to see the solution that He lays out in front of us. We may be sincere in every way as we pray telling God that we put the matter in His hands. But as soon as we get done praying, we go back to worrying because of the pressure that is on us and because our faith is weakened. We forget that God will provide and that nothing is beyond Him. We say that we gave the problem to God but deep down inside we are scared to death.
It is easy to say the words and it is easy for me to write this commentary but it is hard for all of us to follow the message of this prophecy unless we constantly remind ourselves that God is all powerful, He can do anything and only He can save us. Then we have to make the decision and follow through on the decision of following God’s Will and advice instead of our own will or that of the world. In other words, we must be loyal to God.
God Chooses Those Who Choose Him
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
There is a consistency about the way that Paul opens a letter saying many things and delivering many messages which will set the tone for what is to follow. Such is the case in today’s second reading which comes from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.
Paul begins with a prayer as he says, “…grace to you and peace.” We often times pray for peace and at Mass as well as at other Non-Catholic religious services, we offer a sign of peace to each other. But we do not often pray asking that our neighbor receive God’s grace. Notice that grace is the very first thing that Paul prays for on behalf of the Thessalonians. For what can we achieve without God’s grace? What can there be in our lives without God’s grace? Can we have peace for ourselves or with each other without God’s grace? The answer is: no which is why Paul makes grace number one. In so doing, Paul gives us an example to follow.
Next, Paul gives thanks to God for the Thessalonians. Sometimes we thank God for certain people who exist in our lives but there is always a condition. They did something for us first! And even then, we do not always thank God for that person. We thank them for what they did but we do not always thank God because they are there.
Have you ever stopped to thank God for all of mankind, even those people who are your enemies? Me neither, until I got into to writing this commentary. But it is consistent with following the Second Greatest Commandment, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Think about it.
One might argue that Paul also puts a condition on his thanks to God for the Thessalonians because he says that he unceasingly calls to mind their work of faith and labor of love and endurance. But do not overlook the fact that when Paul gives thanks, he uses the words, “all of you.”
What Paul is really doing in addition to giving thanks is recognizing that those who have worked so hard; have done so because they have chosen God and what Paul says next is a direct link to today’s prophecy from Isaiah. Paul says, “…knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.” We have to remember once again that God can and will use anyone to carry out His Will. We have to remember that Paul’s mission from Christ was to minister to the Gentiles and that the Thessalonians were Gentiles. These were not Jews who recognized Christ for who He was as they should have. These were converts just like Paul. This mission was given to Paul by Christ because Christ knew that the Thessalonians would listen to His Word as it came from Paul.
How many of us are like the Thessalonians? Do we listen to God’s Words or do we just hear them? Is our faith strong enough for us to labor unceasingly for the Lord? Most of us are just too busy to give time to our church outside of going to Mass or Service on Sunday and many of us don’t even do that. No offense—just saying.
Paul ends this part of his letter by giving the reason why the Thessalonians have such strong faith. He says, “For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.” Faith is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit which the Thessalonians willingly embraced and their willingness is the conviction.
So, what is the bottom line to all of this? God can use anyone that He wants. But God chooses those who will choose Him.
Be a Good Citizen but Keep Your Faith
Gospel Commentary: Matthew 22:15-21
Decisions…decisions…decisions and so many choices to make. That is the way of everyday life. Today, Jesus teaches us that as we make our choices, we should make sure that we obey the law of the land as well as the law of God. But there is a much deeper message in what Jesus says. Of all the decisions that we will have to make in this life, there is only one that matters where our eternal life is concerned. That decision is to choose God without putting Him to the test.
Once again, Jesus was tested by Pharisees and Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man…you do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God…Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Jesus knew their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing me?”
With all of their intelligence and knowledge, these men were pretty stupid. They were what I call intelligently stupid. That’s the way hypocrisy is. If they knew that Jesus was truthful and taught the way of God, how did they not know who He was and also know better than to put Him to the test? The answer is because they refused to accept the truth even though they were Scripture scholars and they could plainly see that Jesus was fulfilling the Scriptures.
Jesus told them to bring Him a denarius, which was a Roman coin. Then He asked them whose inscription was on it. They replied, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” The Pharisees and Herodians were utterly amazed.
I guess so. Once again, Jesus left them speechless. For those of us who believe in Christ, there are two valuable lessons here. First, do not put God to the test! He will embarrass you every time! The Father did it to the devil in Genesis. Christ did it to the devil in the desert. See Matthew 4:1-11. And Christ did it to the Pharisees every time they questioned Him. Do not put God to the test. That’s a very bad idea.
Second, when Jesus said repay Caesar what belongs to him and to God what belongs to Him, He was telling us to be both good citizens and to remain faithful to God. Jesus was telling us to pay our taxes, obey the law of the land and whatever else that is expected of a good citizen. In today's world, that includes voting. But Jesus was also telling us to give God what belongs to Him. We belong to God and we are expected to give all of ourselves to Him. Remember the First Commandment? Making the choice to obey that commandment is the most important decision of our lives!
