What is God's

 Reflection on the Readings of the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, and the Mission Sunday, October 18th, 2020

Texts: Is. 45:1,4-6; Ps. 96:1.3-10; 1Thes. 1:1-5b; Matt. 22:15-21

In today's gospel, it is written thus: "And Jesus said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?' They said, 'Caesar's.' Then he said, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." We may now ask: what belongs to God? We are to give back to God ourselves, for we are his image. The scripture says, "God said, 'let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves'" (Gen. 1:26). We give ourselves to him when we do his will, when we walk in his ways and give ourselves into his service.  Today's Psalm also gives the answer: "Give to the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and Power; give the Lord the glory of his name. Bring and offering and enter his courts. Worship the Lord in holy splendour. O tremble before him, all the earth. Say to the nations, 'the Lord is king.' He will judge the peoples in fairness." The psalm asks us to give to God glory and power. This means we are to acknowledge his works, his power and his wisdom, and proclaim that they belong to him. The psalm also tells us to give God glory of his name. The glory of God's name is holiness, faithfulness, righteousness and justice, for he is holy, faithful, righteous and just. It calls us to proclaim in our lives his holiness, faithfulness, righteousness, and justice.

The psalm reminds us to bring to God offering, and enter his court. The offering is a bloodless offering, which is Thanksgiving offering. Thanksgiving offering gives honour to God (Ps. 50:23). The court means the presence of God. The psalm does not forget to remind us that worship and adoration belong to God; it is his due, though for our good.

The Thessalonians are presented as people who have given to God what belong to him through the work of faith, labour of love, and patience in hope.  Work of faith is any work done in faith and prompted by God's grace. Such work includes evangelization, forgiveness, charitable works, obedience to God's command; doing his will and keeping his commandments. The labour of love refers to the sacrifice we pay for our love of God and man; the difficulties and pain. Love is indeed laborious! Forgiving offence has its pain; we need to sacrifice our time, talent and resources in our exercise of love. The labour of love is evident in the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ; the cross is a symbol of God's labour of love. Our patience in hope manifests in our endurance of persecution, insult, and perseverance in trial for the sake of Christ's promise; the heavenly kingdom, the eternal life, the unending happiness. Dear friends, we give glory to God through our work of faith, labour of love and patience in hope.

Today, being Mission Sunday, the psalm reminds us that we own God the duty to go out and say to the nations, 'The Lord is king, full of love and judges fairly.' We are to go and tell the people how our God took flesh, go about in human nature teaching, healing, delivering us from evil Spirits, suffered, died, buried, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father, and sent the Holy Spirit as our advocate. The first reading tells that God has called and prepared us that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none beside him, that he is the Lord, and there is no other. Let us remember that he is with us always till the end of time. 

Lord our God, increase in us the zeal and the eagerness to proclaim your mighty deeds to the whole world that peoples may know that there is no other gods beside you. Amen.

May his words dwell in our hearts. Amen.