Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; Psalm 96; Thessalonians 1:1-5b; Matthew 22:15-21]

As a child I used to go along to the local Community Centre and watch cartoons on a big screen. This was in the days when we only had 3 TV stations and children’s programmes were mostly restricted to the couple of hours after school until the early evening news came on. In many cartoons when a new idea or a moment of revelation occurred a light bulb would appear on the screen and suddenly everything became bright. We have a couple of those lightbulb moments in today’s Scriptures.

In the first Reading from Isaiah, we have the Jews in exile realising that their God was not just the God of Israel, but of the whole world. The Jews were coming to the end of their exile in Babylon, and they had experienced the alien and materialistic gods of Babylon. Cyrus mentioned at the start of the reading was the King of Persia, he was preparing to conquer the city of Babylon and decreed that all captives, Jews and other nations were to be deported back to their own countries. The Jews saw Cyrus as a gift from God. This lightbulb moment for them gave them an insight into the sheer immensity of God.

We also see in the Gospel, when yet again the Pharisees aided by the Herodians try to trap Jesus. Jesus turns their trap upon themselves by answering their cunning question with a more probing question. By asking the question about paying taxes to Rome, they were trying to trap Jesus; if he said they should not pay taxes, then they could accuse Jesus of being a rebel to the Romans, if Jesus said they should pay taxes, then they could tell the Jewish people that He was not from God because He recognised the emperor and not God. Jesus trapped them with their own words. He asked to see a coin; this forced the accusers to recognise Rome as their overlord by carrying the coin embossed with the emperor’s head in the first place. Next, He asked them what they thought was due to Ceasar? Finally, He goes beyond the question, questioning their ultimate loyalty, stating that just as they must pay their dues to Ceasar, that they also have an obligation to God.[1]

This last statement is not only for the people of ancient times, it holds true for us today. As we, as citizens are bound to pay taxes for the upkeep of our society, we also have a deeper, more intimate duty to pay our dues to God. As Christians, we call God our Father, we acknowledge Him as our Creator, and yet many of us sometimes relegate God to being a bit part player in our lives. Just as last week in the parable of those originally invited to the banquet, we often find other things to do than answer the invitation from God.

We hear in the second reading how impressed St Paul was of the way the people in Thessalonica responded to that call. This letter; which was one of the earliest letters written by Paul and still in use today; commended the Thessalonians for the way they responded; other communities received letters which urged them to change their ways as they had stumbled on the road to salvation and needed a little jolt to help them recover.

If St Paul was writing to us today in our Pastoral Area, what kind of letter would he be writing? Would he be commending us for our practice of the Faith, or would he be trying to persuade us to step up our efforts as a community? If God was writing a personal letter to us as individuals today, what would He be saying to us? He, who can see all we do in secret, who knows the reason behind all of our decisions, what would He be saying? Only we and God know the answer to that question.

If the question leaves us feeling uncomfortable then we need to change our ways, repent of our wrong doings and start giving more to God of what belongs to God. Following the teachings of Jesus, loving God and our neighbour by what we say and what we do.

When we profess the Creed, do we take in what we are saying? Do we live out the profession we are making and would those we meet know we are Christians [professing those words every week] by how they encounter us?

‘Render to Ceasar the things that are to Ceasar, and to God, the things that are God’s’

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 1897-1917: participation in the social sphere
CCC 2238-2244: duties of citizens[2]

Please accompany in your prayers

  • All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
  • Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
  • The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
  • The continued success of the Alpha courses taking place in our Pastoral Area.
  • The continued success of the Sycamore Programme which taking place in Tadley on Tuesday evenings.
  • All those attending the Baptism Preparation course which concludes this Sunday at St Bede’s.
  • The continued success of the Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching sessions, taking place in St Bede’s Church Hall.

Deacon Tony, 17th October 2026

[1] HW, Readings of the Day, available from www. universalis.com.

[2] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments