Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mass 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 Mass Readings on USCCB.org →

Step Into the Story

In 539 B.C. Cyrus the Great of Persia took Babylon, reportedly without a battle, and let the exiled Jews go home. Isaiah calls this pagan conqueror God’s “anointed”: the Lord of history uses whom He pleases, emperors included. Nearly six centuries later the emperor is Tiberius, and Judea has paid its head tax straight to Rome since 6 A.D., when Judas the Galilean led a revolt against it.

1. 539 B.C.Cyrus takes Babylon
2. 63 B.C.Pompey takes Jerusalem
3. 6 A.D.Revolt over Rome’s head tax
4. 14 A.D.Tiberius becomes emperor
5. This week’s scene: c. 30 A.D.The coin question

Now stand in the Temple courts, likely in the spring of 30 A.D., days before Passover. The morning is cool, but the sun is already hard on Herod’s white stone. Smoke climbs from the altar; smell the burning fat and incense. Hear the priests’ silver trumpets, the Levites singing the morning psalm, pilgrims murmuring in Aramaic and Greek. Look up: Roman soldiers from the Antonia Fortress pace the portico roofs, as at every feast.

Notice the men working toward Jesus: disciples of the Pharisees, who resent Rome, beside Herodians, who do nicely under it. First the flattery, then the trap: is it lawful to pay the tax to Caesar? Say yes, and He betrays His people. Say no, and the soldiers on the roof will hear it. He asks for a coin. Someone produces a silver denarius, a day’s wage, stamped with the head of Tiberius and the words “son of the divine Augustus.” Step close enough to see that face. Then look up at His, and wait for Him to speak.

Encounter the Lord

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.”

Know Your Faith

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).