Give to God what is God's

10-22-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Aruldoss

Dear People of God,

Good morning to you! The Confirmation for our Students is going to take place this Sunday, Oct 22 at 2:00pm at Sts. Peter and Paul in Independence, WI. You are most welcome. Also let us pray for them all.
Today, the 29th Sunday of ordinary time is World Mission Sunday. Today vast numbers of people still do not know Christ. For this reason, the mission ad gentes continues to be most urgent. All the members of the Church are called to participate in this mission. Today is a privileged moment when the faithful of various continents engage in prayer and concrete gestures of solidarity in support of the young Churches in mission land.

The common theme of today’s readings is the nature of our obligations to God and to our country. The readings show us how, with God’s help, we can be ideal citizens of both earth and Heaven. The gospel, Jesus explains that we must give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. The Pharisees and Herodians attempt to entrap Jesus with a question about taxes. It is the continuous efforts by religious leaders to discredit Jesus.

Jesus’ response about giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s provides a distinction between civic and religious duties. This theme touches on the balance between secular and spiritual obligations.

Jesus discerns the malicious intent behind the question and responds wisely, avoiding the trap. This theme underscores Jesus’ ability to navigate challenging situations with insight. Jesus uses the coin’s image to discuss ownership, implying that just as the coin bears Caesar’s image, humans, made in God’s image, belong to Him.

We need to “give to God what is God’s and We need to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”. As Christians and as Citizen, we are called to be faithful to God and to our beautiful country. Have a Happy and Blessed Sunday!