Twenty-ninth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Id-Disa’ u għoxrin Ħadd matul
is-Sena
Missalin A p400
Reading 1 ISaiah 45:1, 4-6
Thus says the LORD to his anointed,
Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred: For the
sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel, my
chosen one, I have called you by your
name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of
the sun people may know that there is
none besides me. I am the LORD, there is
no other. This is the Word of The Lord.
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni - Profeta
Isaija 45, 1, 4-6
Dan jgħid il-Mulej dwar il-midluk tiegħu,
dwar Ċiru: "Lilu qbadt minn idu
l-leminija biex inrażżan il-ġnus
quddiemu u nħoll il-ħżiem ta' ġenbejn
is-slaten; niftaħ l-bibien quddiemu u ebda bieb ma jibqa' magħluq. Minħabba Ġakobb,
il-qaddej tiegħi, u Iżrael, il-maħtu tiegħi, jien sejjaħtlek b'ismek. Tajtek
isem ta' ġieħ għad li lanqas tafni. Jien il-Mulej m'hemmx ieħor ħliefi, m'hemmx Alla ieħor għajri. Jien ħażżimtek għad li lanqas tafni, biex mnejn titla' x-xemx safejn tinżel, il-bnedmin
jagħrfu li m'hemm ħadd ħliefi. Jiena l-Mulej, m'hemmx ieħor ħliefi." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm - PSalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
R/ (7b) Give the Lord glory and honour.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. R/
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. R/
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens. R/
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens. R/
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts. R/
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts. R/
Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is
king,
he governs the peoples with equity. R/
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations
he governs the peoples with equity. R/
Salm
Responsorjali - Salm 95 (96)
R/ Agħtu lill-Mulej sebħ u qawwa.
Għannu
lill-Mulej għanja ġdida;
għannu
lill-Mulej fl-art kollha!
Xandru
fost il-ġnus is-sebħ tiegħu,
fost
il-popli kollha l-għeġubijiet tiegħu. R/
Għax
kbir il-Mulej, ta' min ifaħħru ħafna,
tal-biża
aktar mill-allat kollha.
Għax
kollha frugħa l-allat tal-popli;
Jaħweh
hu li għamel is-smewwiet! R/
Agħtu
lill-Mulej, familji tal-popli,
agħtu
lill-Mulej sebħ u qawwa;
agħtu
lill-Mulej is-sebħ ta' ismu!
Ġibulu
l-offerti, u idħlu fil-btieħi tat-tempu tiegħu. R/
Inxteħtu
quddiem il-Mulej b'tiżjin qaddis,
triegħdu
quddiemu, nies kollha ta' l-art!
Għidu
fost il-ġnus: "Il-Mulej isaltan!"
Hu
li jiġġudiku l-popli bis-sewwa. R/
Reading
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the
church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith
and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our
God and Father, knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen. For our gospel did not come to you in word
alone, but also in power and in the Holy
Spirit and with much conviction. This is
the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni - mill-Ewwel Ittra lit-Tessalonkin 1, 1-5b
Pawlu u Silvanu u Timotju lill-knisja ta'
Tessalonika f'Alla l-Missier u l-Mulej Ġesu' Kristu ġrazzja lilkom u sliem. Aħna
kull ħin niżżu ħajr lil Alla minħabba fikom ilkoll, u niftakru fikom dejjem
meta nitolbu. Niftakru fil-ħidma li hi ġejja mill-fidi tagħkom u fit-taħbit li ħiereġ minn imħabbitkok; niftakru fil-qawwa tat-tama tagħkom f'Sidna Ġesu' Kristu quddiem Alla
Missierna. Aħna nafu, ħuti, li Alla jħobbkom
u għażilkom. Għax l-Evanġelju tagħna
lilkom ma kienx biss bil-kliem, imma wkoll bil-qawwa, bl-Ispirtu s-Santu u
b'persważjoni sħiħa. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel MatThew 22:15-21
The Pharisees went off and
plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They
sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know
that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance
with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not
regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or
not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me,
you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then
they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them,
"Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They
replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to
Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." This is the Word of The Lord.
L-Evanġelju
-
skond San Mattew 22, 15-23
F'dak iż-żmien, il-Fariżej marru u bdew
jiftiehmu bejniethom biex jaraw kif jonsbuh b'xi kelma. U bagħtulu d-dixxipli
tagħhom ma' xi Erodjani u qalulu: "Mgħallem, aħna nafu li int raġel tħobb
is-sewwa, u li t-triq ta' Alla tgħallimha kif tassew hi, bla ma tħabbel rasek
minn ħadd, għax int lejn wiċċ ħadd ma tħares. Għidilna ħaġa, mela: Int
x'jidhirlek! Sewwa jew le li wieħed iħallas
it-taxxa lil Ċesari?" Imma Ġesu' għaraf il-ħażen ta' moħħhom, u qalilhom: "Għaliex tridu ġġarrbuni, ja wċuħ b'oħra? Uruni l-munita tat-taxxa." Urewh dinar, u Ġesu' staqsiehom: "Ta'
min huma dan il-wiċċ u din il-kitba?" Qalulu: "Ta' Ċesari!" Imbagħad qalilhom: "Mela agħtu lil Ċesari dak li hu ta' Ċesari,
u lil Alla dak li hu ta' Alla." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
//////////////////////////////
Profile of a Catholic Politician
Gospel
Commentary by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa ofm cap
This
Sunday’s Gospel ends with one of those lapidary phrases of Jesus that have left
a deep mark on history and on human language:
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” It is no longer either Caesar or God, but Caesar
and God, each on his appropriate level. It is the beginning of the separation
of religion and politics, which until then had been inseparable among all
peoples and regimes.
The Jews were used to understanding the future reign of God founded by the Messiah as a theocracy, that is, as a government directed by God ruling over the whole earth through his people. But now the words of Christ reveal akingdom
of God
The Jews were used to understanding the future reign of God founded by the Messiah as a theocracy, that is, as a government directed by God ruling over the whole earth through his people. But now the words of Christ reveal a
Here we see two qualitatively different sovereignties
of God over the world: the spiritual
sovereignty that constitutes the Kingdom
of God
Caesar and God, however, are not put on the same
level, because Caesar too depends on God and must answer to him. Thus “Give to
Caesar what is Caesar’s” means:
“Give to Caesar what God himself wants to be given to Caesar.” God is sovereign
over all, including Caesar. We are not divided between two loyalties; we are
not forced to serve “two masters.”
The Christian is free to obey the state, but he is also free to resist the state when it goes against God and his law. In such a case it is not legitimate to invoke the principle about the obedience that is owed to superiors, as war criminals often do when they are on trial. Before obeying men, in fact, you must first obey God and your own conscience. You cannot give your soul, which belongs to God, to Caesar.
The Christian is free to obey the state, but he is also free to resist the state when it goes against God and his law. In such a case it is not legitimate to invoke the principle about the obedience that is owed to superiors, as war criminals often do when they are on trial. Before obeying men, in fact, you must first obey God and your own conscience. You cannot give your soul, which belongs to God, to Caesar.
Paying appropriately levied taxes is for the Christian (but also for every honest person) a duty of justice and therefore an obligation of conscience. Guaranteeing order, commerce and a whole series of other services, the state gives the citizen something to which it has a right for compensation in return, precisely to be able to continue these same services.
The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” reminds us
that tax evasion, when it reaches certain proportions, is a mortal sin equal to
every other grave act of theft. It is stealing, not from the “state,” that is
from no one, but from the community, that is, from everyone. Naturally, this
supposes that the state is just and equitable in imposing taxes.
Christian cooperation in building a just and peaceful
society does not stop at paying taxes; it must also extend itself to the
promotion of common values such as the family, the defense of life, solidarity
with the poor, peace. There is also another sphere in which Christians must
make a contribution to politics. It does not have to do with the content of
politics so much as its methods, its style.
Christians must help to remove the poison from the climate of contentiousness in politics, bring back greater respect, composure and dignity to relationships between parties. Respect for one’s neighbor, clemency, capacity for self-criticism
It is undignified for a Christian to give himself over to insults, sarcasm, brawling with his adversaries. If, as Jesus says, those who call their brother “stupid” are in danger of Gehenna, what then must we say about a lot of politicians? [Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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