In Sunday’s first reading, God uses the Gentile ruler Cyrus to accomplish divine purposes. In the gospel reading, the Pharisees approach Jesus in a thinly veiled attempt to trap him on issues of financial obligations to the Roman government. Their question of Jesus, simplified to the extreme, is, “Who gets your wallet?” If Jesus answered one way, he would be guilty of treason. If he answered the other way, he would have been considered guilty of heresy in the eyes of the religious leaders. Jesus responds by issuing a challenge of his own: “Give . . . to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). This statement challenges us to ponder: If God created the world and everything in it, doesn’t everything belong to God? God wants a whole lot more than just your wallet. God wants your life! To gather for worship reminds us that our ultimate allegiance is to God rather than to any earthly authority. Created in the image of God, we offer our entire selves in the service of God and for the sake of the world.
image: Roman coins. Photo by Richard T. Nowitz. Copyright © 2025 Getty Images Plus via Getty Images/The Image Bank. Used by permission.