[ver_11] 29th Sunday _Year A ● ● October 18, 2026 ● ● Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 ● Psalm 96 ● 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b ● Matthew 22:15-21 ● ●
1. Whose
Image? Whose Loyalty?
In today's
Gospel, Jesus is asked whether it is lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar.
Jesus asks
to see a coin and then asks, "Whose image is this?"
If we were
to modernize that question, we might say that Jesus is asking a question about
brand loyalty.
Who
are you loyal to?
Sometimes we
almost define ourselves by the car we drive, the clothes we wear, or the phone
we carry in our pocket.
Are you an
Apple person or an Android person?
There's
nothing wrong with having a favorite brand or product.
But Jesus
isn't simply asking about commercial or corporate loyalty. He's asking
something much more personal.
Who
are we really loyal to? Who do we really follow?
And the
first reading and the Gospel give us two interesting examples of political
authority—and remind us that our ultimate loyalty belongs to God.
2. Cyrus
and Caesar — Earthly Authority Has Limits
In the first
reading, from Isaiah, we hear about Cyrus, the king of Persia.
The Jewish
people had been carried off into exile in Babylon. Cyrus conquered Babylon and
permitted them to return to their homeland.
What's
remarkable is that Cyrus was not one of the people of Israel. Yet God worked
through him to accomplish something good for his people.
In fact,
Isaiah describes Cyrus as the Lord's anointed.
God was
working through someone the people might never have expected.
Now, several
centuries later, in today's Gospel, the Jewish people are living in their homeland,
but under Roman authority.
And Jesus is
asked a politically dangerous question:
"Is it
lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
It's a trap. If Jesus says not to pay the tax, he risks
being accused of opposing Rome. If he says to pay it, he risks alienating
people who resent Roman occupation.
But Jesus
doesn't fall into their trap.
He asks them
to identify the image on the coin.
"Caesar's,"
they answer.
And Jesus
responds:
"Repay
to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
We have
responsibilities in this world, including civic and financial responsibilities.
But those responsibilities never replace our ultimate obligation to God.
Caesar's
authority has limits.
Cyrus was
not God. Caesar was not God. And no political leader can take God's place.
3. God's
Image — Even in Those Who Do Not Forgive Us
But Jesus'
question about the coin leads us to an even more important question.
Caesar's
image is on the coin.
Whose
image is on you and me?
In Genesis
chapter one, we read that God created human beings in his own image and
likeness.
The coin
bears Caesar's image. But you and I bear God's image.
And if we
bear God's image, then giving God what belongs to God means more than
fulfilling certain religious obligations.
It means
offering ourselves to God through the way we live.
And here's
something important.
Not only are
you and I created in God's image. Every other person is created in God's image
as well.
Everyone in
this church is made in God's image. Even people we don't know are made in God's
image.
And I'm
sorry to say—or perhaps sorry to admit to myself—that sometimes even the people
I don't like are made in God's image.
Even the
person who has caused me great difficulty is made in God's image.
Even the
person I find difficult to forgive is made in God's image.
Even
the person who refuses to forgive me is made in God's image.
That can be
a difficult truth to accept.
Sometimes it
seems easier to remain angry at someone or to hold on to resentment.
But then we
remember Jesus' words:
"Love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
We don't
have to agree with everyone. We don't have to approve of everything someone
says or does.
But we are
called to recognize God's image in them.
Saint Paul
reminds us that love is patient and love is kind.
And
sometimes loving another person means taking up our cross.
4. The
Cross — Our Personal Response to God's Love
Jesus told
his disciples that following him would mean taking up their cross.
And Jesus
himself showed us what that means.
At the Last
Supper, he said, "This is my body, which will be given for you."
His words
became a gift of himself.
And
sometimes taking up our cross means quietly doing what is right, even when it
is difficult, even when nobody notices, and even when we receive nothing in
return.
The Cross is
the great sign of Christ's love for us.
It reminds
us that Jesus gave himself for us, that our sins can be forgiven through the
Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, and that we are called to extend
forgiveness to others.
But the
Cross is not simply an outward sign of our Christian identity. It calls for
something personal, something that changes the way we live.
And there's
a familiar gesture we make at every Mass, just before hearing the Gospel.
We trace 3 small
Signs of the Cross: on our forehead, on our lips, and over our heart.
We ask that
God's Word be in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts.
That's not
simply an outward gesture. It's meant to become part of our interior lives.
Perhaps we
can remember those three small Signs of the Cross before a difficult
conversation, before responding to someone who has hurt us, or before speaking
with someone with whom we disagree.
We can
quietly ask God to guide our thoughts, our words, and our hearts.
Sometimes
that means finding the right words. Sometimes it means choosing not to say
something hurtful.
And
sometimes all we can do is pray for someone we find difficult to love.
Because that
other person, even someone who has hurt us or refuses to forgive us, is also
made in God's image.
The Cross
reminds us of the love Christ has already shown us. Our Christian lives are our
response to that love.
The
coin bears Caesar's image. But you and I bear God's image. And so does every
person we encounter.
"Repay
to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
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