By Deacon Richard Hay
“Give to God What Belongs to God”
In preparation for World Mission Sunday, which is today, Pope Leo recently reflected on his years as a missionary in Peru. Looking back on that time, he spoke about how the prayers and support of Catholics around the world sustained him in his ministry. He specifically pointed to the prayers and offerings made through World Mission Sunday as a source of encouragement for missionaries like him serving far from home.
As I was reading that, I found myself thinking about the people who made that possible. Somewhere an ordinary Catholic sitting in an ordinary parish dropped a few dollars into a collection basket. It could have even happened right here at Sacred Heart. They never met the missionary they were helping. They never traveled to Peru or any other missionary country. They never saw the lives that were touched because of their generosity. They certainly never imagined that one day one of those missionaries would become the Holy Father.
Much of the Christian life is built on trust so we may never see the impact we have had on missionaries overseas or others who are nearer to us. We pray, serve, and give but most of the time we never see the full impact of those efforts. We see one chapter but God sees the whole story.
That brings us to today’s Gospel. The Pharisees approach Jesus with what they think is the perfect trap. They ask Him whether it is lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar. It’s not really a sincere question. They’re trying to force Him into a corner. If He says yes, some of the people will turn against Him. If He says no, He risks being accused of opposing Rome.
Instead of taking the bait, Jesus asks for a coin. Holding it up, He asked a simple question: “Whose image is this?” When they answer, “Caesar’s,” Jesus replies, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
We often hear those words as a lesson about taxes or politics. But I think Jesus is inviting us to go deeper.
From the very beginning of scripture, we are told that every human person is created in the image and likeness of God. The coin belongs to Caesar because it carries his image. However, we belong to God, because we carry His image.
I think that’s really the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus is reminding us of who we are and who we belong to. Before we are anything else, before our occupations, nationality, or political parties, we are sons and daughters of God. We bear His image and so we belong to Him. Once we understand that, then all the parts of our faith begin to fit together beautifully just like the readings today.
In the first reading, God speaks about Cyrus, the king of Persia. Cyrus wasn’t an Israelite. He wasn’t part of God’s chosen people. In fact, he didn’t even know the Lord. Yet God was working through him all the same.
It’s a reminder that God’s plans are always larger than ours. We tend to draw lines and boundaries. We divide the world into people who are with us and people who are not. But God is always reaching beyond the boundaries we create. His concern extends beyond just one nation, one language, one culture, or one people.
Then we hear the psalmist say to us, “tell his glory among the nations” and “among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.”
Those words could serve as a mission statement for each one of us, and for World Mission Sunday. They also remind us that faith is never something meant to be kept to ourselves. The Gospel and God’s love is always meant to be proclaimed in our actions.
Sometimes when we hear the word “missionary,” we immediately think of someone serving in a distant country. And thank God for those missionaries. The Church needs them. The Church has always depended on men and women willing to leave behind what is familiar to bring the Gospel to places where Christ is not yet widely known. That is why World Mission Sunday has been around for the last one-hundred years.
But the truth is that mission begins much closer to home.
Most of us are not being called to travel to a missionary country overseas. However, all of us are being called to witness to Christ in our lives and to others.
Parents are missionaries to their children. Grandparents are missionaries to their grandchildren. Teachers are missionaries to their students. We are all missionaries to our co-workers and our friends. Every one of us is called to reveal Christ in the ordinary places where we spend our lives.
That’s why I think the second reading is so important. St. Paul praises the Thessalonians because the Gospel came to them not merely in words but in power and in the Holy Spirit. Their faith became visible in the way they lived. Their lives reflected the work God had done in them. It should be the same for all of us.
Others are not looking for perfect Christians. They’re not looking for people who have every answer. They’re looking for authenticity. They’re looking for people whose faith genuinely makes a difference in the way they live. They’re looking for people who serve, who love and who trust in God.
You know, many people will never read a book about theology. Many people will never attend a Bible study, and some will never even walk through the doors of a church.
However, they will meet us in the world we live in each day.
They will watch how we treat one another. They will see how we respond to suffering, disappointment, and joy. They will notice whether our faith is merely something we talk about or something that shapes our lives. That’s the missionary work we are all called to do.
And maybe that is where today’s Gospel becomes very personal for each of us. When Jesus says, “Give to God what belongs to God,” He is talking about the giving of our very selves.
It means we must give all of ourselves to God. Our heart, trust, fears, and talents. We must give God the parts of our lives that we still try to control on our own. If we truly belong to Him, then everything we have ultimately comes from Him and is meant to serve His will.
As we celebrate World Mission Sunday, we are reminded that mission belongs to the entire Church. Through prayer, generosity, and witness, every baptized person participates in the work of Christ bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth – or at least in our local neighborhoods.
Remember, the coin bears Caesar’s image and belongs to Caesar. We bear God’s image and belong to God.
Once we understand this truth, our lives become woven into God’s story in ways far beyond anything we could ever imagine.
