October 19, 2014

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
subduing nations before him,
and making kings run in his service,
opening doors before him
and leaving the gates unbarred:
For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10

R/ (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R/ Give the Lord glory and honor.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R/ Give the Lord glory and honor.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
R/ Give the Lord glory and honor.
Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.
R/ Give the Lord glory and honor.

Reading 2 1 Thes 1:1-5b

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God,
how you were chosen.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

Gospel Mt 22:15-21

The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."

From: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6

Cyrus’ mission

[1] Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and ungird the loins of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:

[4] For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name.
I surname you, though you do not know me.
[5] I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I gird you, though you do not know me,
[6] that men may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.

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Commentary:

45:1-13. This poetic statement is a message designed to raise the spirits of the
exiles by announcing the sending of a liberator. Cyrus of Persia, whom God will
use to implement his plans of salvation for Israel. The formal, very considered,
mention of Cyrus, a foreign king, reveals the universal scope of God’s salvific
plans — which did not at all fit in with the people’s own exclusive, nationalistic
mentality. The prophecy can be read as an investiture oracle that maybe never
reached the ears of Cyrus yet filled the exiles with hope. St Thomas comments:
“Having raised the hope of the people in the divine promises (chaps. 40-44), he
lists and details the promises in order to console them: first he promises free-
dom from all ills (chaps. 45-55), and then the restoration of all goods (chaps.
56-66)” (”Expositio super Isaiam”, 59).

Cyrus was a foreign king who did not know the God of the chosen people, and
yet, surprisingly, has been given the title of “anointed”, a title reserved to the
kings of Israel. Moreover, the oracle says that the mission and conquest of this
Persian king are attributable to special divine providence: God has chosen this
man to deliver Israel from oppression by other nations (vv. 1-5). This message
must have truly amazed those who heard the oracle. Even many centuries later
it makes us realize that Gods plans can involve historical events that at first
sight can seem disconcerting or at odds with those plans.

The expression “ungird the loins of kings” means disarming them, for the sword
was slung from the belt.

45:6-7. ‘When these verses were written they may have been designed to coun-
ter dualism (very prevalent among the Persians and their neighbours), which held
that two counterposed principles existed — good and evil; hence the emphasis on
the fact that the Lord is the only God, the creator of all things, of light and of dark-
ness. That would explain why God is described as the maker of “weal” and “woe”,
whereas because God is infinite goodness he cannot properly be called the au-
thor of evil. However, because Christian readers could find the statement (in v. 2
disconcerting, exegetes have commented on it. Origen, quite early on, gave this
explanation: “Evil, in the absolute sense of the word, was not created by God”
[...].

If we speak of evil in a loose sense, meaning physical and natural evils, then we
can say that God created it in order to convert men by their suffering. What is
strange about this teaching? We refer to the punishments meted out by parents
and teachers, and even the prescriptions and operations carried out by doctors
and surgeons, as evils and sufferings, without blaming or condemning them. And
that is how we should read the verse: I form light and create darkness. I make
weal and woe (Is 45:7)” (”Contra Celsum”, 6, 55-56). And St Gregory the Great
comments: “I make weal and woe: the peace of God is offered to us precisely
in the moment when created things, which are good in themselves, though not
always desired or sought with rectitude of heart, become the source of suffering
and disgrace. Our union with God is broken by sin; it is fitting, therefore, that
we return to him along the path of suffering. When any created thing, which is
good in itself, causes us to suffer, it is an instrument for our conversion, so that
we will return humbly to the source of peace” (”Moralia in Job”, 3, 9, 15).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b

Greetings

[1] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Fidelity

[2] We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our
prayers, [3] remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor
of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. [4] For we know bre-
thren beloved by God, that he has chosen you; [5] for our gospel came to you
not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1. The heading is in keeping with the style of the period: it identifies the writer
and the addressees and contains a greeting. The names of Silvanus and Timo-
thy, co-workers of St Paul, appears alongside his own. The heading is affectio-
nate in tone but it is not the kind of opening typical of a simple family letter. This
is an official letter, which is why two witnesses vouch for its content (in line with
legal requirements: cf. Deut 17:6).

As in certain other letters (cf. 2 Thess, Phil, Philem), St Paul does not describe
himself as an Apostle; the mention of his name is enough to convey his authority.
Silvanus is the same person as Silas whom Acts describes as “prophet” and one
of the “leading men among the brethren” in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15:22, 32); here
the Latin transcription of his name is used. He had worked alongside St Paul in
the evangelization of Thessalonica, so he would have been well known to the be-
lievers in that city (cf. Acts 17:4). Timothy was the son of a Gentile father and a
Jewish mother (his mother was a Christian convert); Paul gave him instruction in
the faith when he passed through Lystra during his second missionary journey,
and ever since then he had always been a faithful helper of the Apostle. When
St Paul was writing this letter, Timothy had just arrived in Corinth from Thessalo-
nica with good reports of the spiritual health of that church (cf. 1 Thess 3:6).

The letter is addressed to “the church of the Thessalonians”. The Greek word
“ekklesia”, meaning “assembly, gathering of the people”, was used from the apo-
stolic age onwards to describe the Church, the new people of God. St Thomas
Aquinas used this verse for his definition of the Church as “the assembly of the
faithful brought together in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, through
faith in the Trinity and in the divinity and humanity of Christ” (”Commentary on 1
Thess, ad loc.”). “All those, who in faith look toward Jesus, the author of salva-
tion and the principle of unity and peace, God had gathered together and esta-
blished as the Church, that it may be for each and everyone the visible sacra-
ment of this saving unity” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 9).

“Grace to you and peace”: a favorite greeting of St Paul’s, expressing the wish
that they will attain the fullness of heavenly good things. See the note on Rom
1:7).

3. The spiritual life of the Christian is based on the practice of the theological vir-
tues, for “faith encourages men to do good, charity to bear pain and effort, and
hope to resist patiently” (Severian of Gabala, “Commentary on 1 Thess, ad loc.”).

Faith needs to be reflected in one’s conduct, for “faith apart from works is dead”
(Jas 2:26). As St John Chrysostom teaches, “belief and faith are proved by works
— not by simply saying that one believes, but by real actions, which are kept up,
and by a heart burning with love” (”Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.”).

The service of others for God’s sake is a proof of charity. A person who practices
this virtue always rises to the occasion and does not try to dodge sacrifice or
effort.

Hope is a virtue which “enables one to endure adversity” (St Thomas, “Commen-
tary on 1 Thess, ad loc.”). St Paul encourages us to rejoice in hope and be pa-
tient in tribulation (cf. Rom 12:12), for hope fills the soul with joy and gives it the
strength to bear every difficulty for love of God.

4. All men are “beloved by God” and, as St Thomas points out, this is the case
“not just in the ordinary sense of having received natural existence from him, but
particularly because he has called them to eternal good things” (”Commentary
on 1 Thess, ad loc.”). Man’s last end is happiness, and happiness cannot be
found (other than in a relative sense) in wealth, honors, health or sensual satis-
faction; it can only be found in knowing and loving God. By raising man to the
supernatural order, God gave him a supernatural goal or end, which consists in
“seeing God himself, triune and one, as he is, clearly” (Council of Florence
“Laetentur Coeli”).

Deprived as he was of sanctifying grace on account of original sin and his per-
sonal sins, man was unable to attain any end exceeding his natural powers. But
God loved us so much that he deigned to enable us “to share in the inheritance
of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and
transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col 1:12-13). Therefore, those
who have been given the preaching of the Gospel and the fruits of Redemption
through Baptism and the other sacraments are the object of a special divine
“choice”. This “choice” or election is not the same as “salvation”; it is an initia-
tive on God’s part prior to the attainment of salvation. To be saved one must se-
cond this action of God by responding freely to grace.

5. St Paul reminds them that what he preached was the “gospel” foretold by the
prophets (cf. Is 40:9; 52:7; 60:6; 61:1) and fulfilled by the Incarnation of the Word
and by his work of salvation. The Apostle was pressed into service by the Holy
Spirit to forward his work of sanctification. The Thessalonians were not won over
by mere human words but by the “power” of God, who made those words effec-
tive. The term “power” refers not only to miraculous actions but also to the Holy
Spirit moving the souls of those who heard Paul’s preaching.

It is true that this activity, like all actions of God outside himself, is something
done by all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; but in the language of Scripture
and of the Church it is customary “to attribute to the Father those works of the
Divinity in which power excels; to attribute to the Son, those in which wisdom
excels; and to the Holy Spirit, those in which love excels” (Leo XIII, “Divinum Il-
lud Munus”, 5).

In the early years of the Church the proclamation of the Gospel was often marked
by special graces of the Holy Spirit, such as prophecy, miracles, or the gift of
tongues (cf. Acts 2:8). This profusion of gifts made it clear that the messianic era
had begun (cf. Acts 2:16), for it meant the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies: “I
will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even
upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit”
(Joel 3:1-3).

“In power and in the Holy Spirit”: in line with the divine plan of salvation, the time
of the Old Testament, which prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah,
has reached its end, and a new era has begun, the Christian era, the key feature
of which is the activity of the Spirit of God: “It must be said that the Holy Spirit is
the principal agent of evangelization: it is he who impels each individual to pro-
claim the Gospel, and it is he who in the depths of consciences causes the word
of salvation to be accepted and understood” (Paul VI, “Evangelii Nuntiandi”, 75).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 22:15-21

On Tribute to Caesar

[15] Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle him in his talk.
[16] And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Tea-
cher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care
for no man; for you do not regard the position of men. [17] Tell us, then, what
you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” [18] But Jesus, aware of
their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? [19] Show me the
money for the tax.” And they brought him a coin. [20] And Jesus said to them,
“Whose likeness and inscription is this?” [21] They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he
said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to
God the things that are God’s.”

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Commentary:

15-21. The Pharisees and Herodians join forces to plot against Jesus. The Hero-
dians were supporters of the regime of Herod and his dynasty. They were quite
well disposed to Roman rule and, as far as religious matters were concerned,
they held the same kind of materialistic ideas as the Sadducees. The Pharisees
were zealous keepers of the Law; they were anti-Roman and regarded the Hero-
dians as usurpers. It is difficult to imagine any two groups more at odds with
each other: their amazing pact shows how much they hated Jesus.

Had Jesus replied that it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees could
have discredited him in the eyes of the people, who were very nationalistic; if he
said it was unlawful, the Herodians would have been able to denounce him to the
Roman authorities.

Our Lord’s answer is at once so profound that they fail to grasp its meaning, and
it is also faithful to his preaching about the Kingdom of God: give Caesar what is
his due, but no more, because God must assuredly be given what he has a right
to (the other side of the question, which they omitted to put). God and Caesar are
on two quite different levels, because for an Israelite God transcends all human
categories. What has Caesar a right to receive? Taxes, which are necessary for
legitimate state expenses. What must God be given? Obviously, obedience to
all his commandments—which implies personal love and commitment. Jesus’
reply goes beyond the human horizons of these tempters, far beyond the simple
yes or no they wanted to draw out of him.

The teaching of Jesus transcends any kind of political approach, and if the faithful,
using the freedom that is theirs, chose one particular method of solving temporal
questions, they “ought to remember that in those cases no one is permitted to
identify the authority of the Church exclusively with his own opinion” (Vatican II,
“Gaudium Et Spes”, 43).

Jesus’ words show that he recognized civil authority and its rights, but he made
it quite clear that the superior rights of God must be respected (cf. Vatican II,
“Dignitatis Humanae”, 11), and pointed out that it is part of God’s will that we
faithfully fulfill our civic duties (cf. Rom 13:1-7).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

Isaiah 45:1,4-6 ©

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,

whom he has taken by his right hand

to subdue nations before him

and strip the loins of kings,

to force gateways before him

that their gates be closed no more:

‘It is for the sake of my servant Jacob,

of Israel my chosen one,

that I have called you by your name,

conferring a title though you do not know me.

I am the Lord, unrivalled;

there is no other God besides me.

Though you do not know me, I arm you

that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

that, apart from me, all is nothing.’

Psalm

Psalm 95:1,3-5,7-10 ©