29th Sunday in ordinary time. Today’s readings: Isaiah 45,1.4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1,1-5b; Matthew 22,15-21

 

Several individuals in society stand out because they seem to have made a career for themselves by their own intelligence, talents, and skills. They are admired for their prowess and their achievements. More often than not, they would have amassed huge wealth or garnered political influence. The ability to seemingly arrive at the top unaided makes their success stories even more impressive.

The aura around such people at times results in gossip and exaggerations. Once, I received an e-mail about Mel Gibson which said he had had an accident that had caused him facial deformation. A Catholic surgeon offered to help him and the surgery was so successful that it led Gibson to become the famous actor he is.

I shared this with a Jesuit friend, who in turn sent the information to the Jesuit priest who had translated Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ into Aramaic. Subsequently, I was told that Gibson had remarked that the story was made up.

Twenty-five centuries ago, a king called Cyrus came to power and conquered the Babylonians. Yet, though making a name for himself, God’s address to him put things in perspective: “I have called you by your name, have given you a title of honour though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides me. I will gird you, though you have not known me…” (Isa 45,4-5). Not only was his dominion over the mighty Persian Kingdom God’s doing, but the Sovereign Lord had also anointed him and taken him by the hand to serve his plan of releasing the Jewish people from exile.

The so-called Great Return to the Promised Land was orchestrated by God for his people’s benefit. Cyrus’s divinely appointed role of being their liberator won him great renown, but both king and people were prosperous only by divine will.

It is ironic that a non-Jewish king gave them back their land. How does this fact enlighten the present Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Honestly, I have no clue, but it would help one and all to realise that no one can lay claim to anything that God has not granted them as a gift. All good things come from God.

Assuming that all we owe to society is to pay our taxes would constitute a minimalist view. Our social responsibilities are broader and include caring for the world, our common home

Jesus’s words in today’s gospel take this even deeper: “Give to Caesar... and to God...” There is something we owe Caesar (the State) because we belong to this earthly system, no matter how faulty and cranky it might be. Jesus held a coin in his hand, pointing out Caesar’s image on it and the legal obligations it imposed on those who used that coinage. No matter how many excuses we may produce, we are, to some degree or other, indebted to the sociopolitical structures that somehow support us, bringing order to our communal life.

Yet our obligations far exceed monetary ones. Assuming that all we owe to society is to pay our taxes would constitute a minimalist view. Our social responsibilities are broader and include caring for the world, our common home. They also include civic engagement and practical services rendered for the well-being of local communities (be they parishes or town structures), respect shown to the various members of society, and the cultivation of virtues that make our relationships with others more authentic and meaningful. Paying Caesar his dues implies fulfilling our obligations towards Caesar’s subjects, that is, society at large.

It is intriguing that Cyrus was ordained by God to set his people free so that they could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, the place where he would be worshipped (2 Chronicles 36,22-23). It is a stark reminder of the fact that ultimately, we should render our dues to God. It is to him that we are indebted our entire life and all our love.

 

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