Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Remembrance of Mary Salome, the mother of James and John, who followed the Lord to the cross and placed him in the tomb. Memorial of Saint John Paul II, pope, who died in 2005.
Read more
Homily
“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Generally this sentence is interpreted in a flat way as an argument for the separation of Church and State. And, this is certainly one possible interpretation. However, this passage touches on a much more profound truth about humanity. This scene in the Gospel takes its cue from a gathering of Pharisees who want to ensnare Jesus in a trap by asking him if it is required to pay tribute to Caesar, the hated Roman emperor. The question was well concocted, because if Jesus were to respond negatively, then he would be seen as rebelling against the Romans and if he responded positively, then he would seem to be against the people’s aspirations for liberation. To push Jesus down this slippery slope, the Pharisees and the Herodians preface their question with adulations for Jesus. They praise him for his frankness in answering questions and addressing problems: “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.” Though their words are true, their compliments are venomous because they rise from envious and embittered hearts. “Aware of their malice,” the evangelist notes, Jesus avoids the insidious ambush all together by transferring the question from a theoretical plane (the legitimacy of paying taxes) to a practical one.
He asks them to show him the “tax money,” the currency of Rome that was used in all of the Empire. He asks whose face and title is on the coin. They respond, “The emperor’s.” And Jesus responds, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.” His response disconcerts his listeners. It is clear to everyone what belongs to Caesar: that coin from the Roman mint with the emperor’s “image” on it. That coin, then, would eventually have to be returned to its owner. On this question, the Gospel goes no further. The religious and civic duties that interconnect humanity and God are not incompatible. Paying taxes did not compromise at all the Jews’ subjection to God’s authority. Furthermore, Jesus did not want to insinuate that Caesar had autonomous power independent of God. The question that follows is urgent: if the coin belongs to Caesar and to him it must be rendered, then what belongs to God that must be given back to him?
The term “image” that Jesus used for the currency certainly recalls the biblical phrase found at the very beginning of Scripture: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Every human being, even the guiltiest, is radically marked by divine presence. Therefore there is a “sanctity” that belongs to every person, not by merit but through gift. Every person, no matter what their condition, culture or even moral quality, is created in God’s image. If anything we should add that God’s image us even clearer when we look both at man and woman. This image including that of marriage that unites man and woman - is often disfigured, offended, humiliated, or broken due to our own faults or those of others. But in disfiguring ourselves or others, we disfigure the image of God in us. Jesus urges his listeners to return to God that which belongs to Him: that is, every man and every woman. Nobody can be the master of another person, nobody can subjugate another, nobody can rule over the life of another. Not even single individuals are lords of themselves. This truth is the real contradiction of our growing individualistic culture that leads us to get rid also of God. Every person’s truth lies in the fact that each and every one of us is a son or daughter of God. And that we belong to God. This is the root of our freedom and dignity, which must always be defended, cared for and given back to each person. The image of God that is chiselled into the depths of each human being must always be made clearer. Jesus’ disciples must work so that the icon of God that is impressed in each person’s heart may shine brightly.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
