OMELIE / Omelie EN

18 ott 2020

18/10/2020 – 29th Sunday  in O. T. - A

18/10/2020 – 29^th Sunday  in O. T. - A

World Mission Day

Reading 1 Is 45,1.4-6 * Psalm 95 * Reading 2 1THES 1,1-5 * Gospel MT 22,15-21

The Word Jesus is gifting us today has become an expression. It has left amazed and silenced His enemies, who were certain they had laid an infallible trap for the Master who was attracting crowds thanks to His amiable and honest words. In a way to catch Him undoubtedly, they design such a question that needs to be met by an answer always reproachable. The two parties usually enemies have struck an alliance, the Pharisees and the Herodians. If an answer was satisfactory for one party, it would be unacceptable for the other. In addition, they manage to make the disciples of the two parties approach Him: the leaders are not showing themselves, in any case afraid to put up a bad show in front of the people. In order to start the conversation and put Jesus in a condition of talking without restraints, they fake to be strong admirers of His. With a lying disposition they are actually telling the truth: “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”. They are really clever, but Jesus, because He knows them, is aware right away of their malice, and even more when they ask the fatal question: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”.

Jesus understands that if He was to say “yes”, He would let the Pharisees criticise Him and He would become unpopular among the people, if He was to say “no” instead, the Herodians would be the ones to drag Him in a tribunal and accuse Him to call for a rebellion. But Jesus is not doing calculations: He has no intention of saying either yes or no. The Lord looks at the tangible. What do those who are in front of Him have in their pockets, both the parties? Are they not making use for their businesses and their needs of the very coins coming from Caesar, and therefore of His officers and the buildings he builds and manages? This is the truth: their listeners, both the parties, hold in their pockets the Emperor’s coins, even if they are showing his portrait with inscription, a blasphemy for every good Jew. The image of a man was prohibited to the Jews, but they were keeping it in their pockets. The inscription you could read on the coins then was showing, next to the name, also the divine title of the Emperor: an authentic blasphemy if there was one.

At this point it is easy for Jesus to say: “Give back to Caesar his things”! This answer might also mean to pay him for the services they make use of, and therefore pay taxes. Jesus has no doubt that God Himself can make use of the authority of the government, even if pagan, as back in the days He had made use of Cyrus, king of Persia, when He had given him the task to let the people of Israel go back, after having it transferred to Babylon, helping it even to rebuild the temple. The Herodians then cannot disapprove Him, even less condemn Him.

But Jesus adds to everyone's surprise: “Give back to God what is His”. Is there anything that does not belong to God and has not been given by Him? What was Jesus thinking about? “Give to the Lord glory and praise” the psalm advises. “What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.” (Psalm 116). We owe the Lord our heart, our life, everything: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

No Caesar can take God's place  in the heart of the man who loves Him. The Pharisees find themselves left behind by this answer in regard to their own desire to be religious. And we continue peacefully to be law-abiding citizens, and to cooperate with all our strengths to the Kingdom of God, we continue to live and offer the gospel to the men we meet. In fact, we still sing today in the Psalm:  “Say among the nations: The Lord is king! »”. In this way we make our nation beautiful and we are useful to all our fellow citizens.

Let us live our mission and the mission of the Church in the world in this double way: we love the Lord with all our heart by cooperating to make healthy and liveable the society of men we live in. Today we pray for the missionaries, who carry everywhere to every people the knowledge of the Father who loves everyone and gives everybody the joy and strength to be brethren for one another. And not only we pray for this, but we ourselves will live looking at the Father as His children who work in His vineyard.