By Fr Antony Christy SDB –
October 18, 2020: 29th Sunday in Ordinary time
Isaiah 45: 1,4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5; Matthew 22: 15-21
The Word today has a theme that is very difficult for the world today to accept. It brings out the absolute sovereignty that God has over reality. The post-modern mind and the new age spirituality clamours for an autonomy that sometimes borders on an absolute independence of the human person and a meaning made in total isolation – without others, without the cosmos, and of course without God. The episode of the tower of Babel is a specimen event already in the beginnings of Biblical prehistory. And that experience continues in every age of human history in varied ways…just think of connecting our pandemic experience to that too, it would make a lot of sense. Against this background, the Word calls us today to pay attention to three undeniable facts, but many a time denied by the human beings:
- Everything belongs to God:
The first reading recalls the role of Persia and the Persian king Cyrus, in the emancipation of Israel. It was possible because Persia was first able to grow into a super power. They grew into power and they found the slavery of the Hebrews unnecessary and thought of emancipating them. And the account from Isaiah points out that even though Persia seemingly had nothing much to do with Yahweh, it was in fact the Lord who was preparing Persia in view of emancipating Israel – it might have taken ages but that is how history works; it is not a day’s work. Yes, the Lord is presented to us as the Lord of history, and not merely the Lord of Israel. Everything belongs to God and God is in control of everything.
At times when things may not be going the way we would want them to, all that we need to do is remain calm believing that God is working out a course of history. A surrender into the hands of God and a patient wait on the Lord would bring us to an experience that would be absolutely awesome. We lack patience, and increasingly today the human tendency is growing more and more impatient. Whoever guaranteed that everything in life will go as we plan it – why should it be so? The events of the past 6 months have taught this much to us. Let us remember it is God who is the Lord of history and of time, not we. Everything belongs to God, even time and tide!
- God belongs to everyone:
Saul was appointed by Yahweh, that was their experience. David was raised by Yahweh, that was their certainty. That even Cyrus was raised to power by God, comes as a special learning for the people of Israel. They were being challenged on their claim to monopolise Yahweh as their own, and only their own. God slowly opens them up to the reality that God belongs to everyone. What matters was to have what it takes to be called God’s own. The Gospel brings it out subtly, in the reflection that Jesus makes on the coin, saying it belongs to Caesar as it bears Caesar’s image. Hence the condition to belong to God is to have God’s image imprinted on ourselves.
No one, absolutely no one, can monopolise God and it is not Christ-ian to think of it that way. God cannot belong to a particular group of people. It can be true the other way about, that we belong to God. But to claim that God belongs to a group would be human folly without doubt. That is why when there are some absolute claims by people, whoever they are – whether the most prolific of theologians or some quack start ups – God would be smiling down upon and laughing at their folly! It is not for us to own God, or monopolise God and reject persons and groups depending on that! That is totally ungodly! What we should is, to respect every person with a genuine search and yearning for God and every person with a humble and authentic experience of God. God belongs to everyone.
- Render and don’t hold back what belongs to God
Everything, all that we have, belongs to God. What is that you have, which you have not received? (1 Cor 4:7) asks St. Paul. We are called to render to God all that belongs to God: our talents, our skills, our learning, our abilities… everything we are called to render unto the Lord. At times we like to take everything away from God – that is what the world is trying hard to: to take away the power and authority from God, to take away the sovereignty from God, to take away the creation from the Lord, to take away whatever pertains to glory from God, to take the entire world away from God – and the result, all the confusions and darkness that we have unleashed on earth.
To render everything unto the Lord, is rendering unto the cause of the Lord, unto the establishing of the Reign of God. It is a call to that state of life where, all that we say, think or do, has to be unto the Reign of God. Thus, we will totally belong to God and will have the mark of belonging to God: the Holy Spirit. That is what should define me – in Christ Jesus, the mark of the Holy Spirit that says, I belong to my God!
Isn’t that a lovely reflection to remain with the whole of this week: me, God and what belongs!
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.