Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction:

The themes running through today’s readings are as follows: (a) the utter conviction of God’s saving power and his choice of Cyrus to mediate this (first reading). This is also underpinned by Israel’s credo, that there is only one God, and there is no other; (b) the fidelity of God’s abiding love exemplified in Jesus the Christ, and the consistent action of the Holy Spirit, referenced in St. Paul’s zeal and conviction (second reading); and (c) the gospel demonstrates that Jesus cannot be divided by tricks or attempts to split his union and identification with the Father, the one God of the Schema prayer.

 Isaiah 45:1.4-6

In this reading God shows his power and authority mediated by his servant Cyrus ‘whom he has taken by his right hand’ to subjugate all nations that would threaten his rule and his choice of Israel as his people. The fascinating aspect of this text, first introduced in Isaiah 41:1-7 is to introduce Cyrus as the instrument and ‘outsider’ that will defend Israel from her enemies, he is chosen by God because of his military record as a man who wins wars. Both Isaiah chapter 41 and 45 present a theological vision described in the oneness of God and his power, in conjunction with a type of political alliance with a man who is capable of protecting Israel from the enemies of God’s chosen people, and of this man, God says.. ‘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. ’The political ramifications for the survival of Israel are significant: the survival of a nation (God’s chosen people) by way of territory, freedom from contamination from alien gods, and particularly Babylonian infiltration and occupation.

 First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 1:1-5

After greeting the Thessalonians with a direct blessing initiated by God the father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul congratulates them for ‘their faith in action’ and the way that their perseverance has increased their hope. In continuity with belief in the one God, the Holy Spirit comes with power and ‘utter conviction’ to sustain and fortify.

 Matthew 22:15-21

Jesus by way of his dialogue with those who would wish to catch him off guard, recognises their intentions to divide him and split him off from his mission and purpose, turns the tables by recognising political realism - Caesar’s monetary influence, and then directs attention to the oneness of God and what should be their ultimate concern, at the same time accentuating his own undivided nature and oneness with God the Father.  

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catholicism of the Catholic Church References:
CCC 1897-1917: participation in the social sphere
CCC 2238-2244: duties of citizens

‍