1st Reading – 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.
Our first reading is set during the final years of the Babylonian Exile, a time of great suffering in Jewish history. In 587 BC, the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, carried many of the people of Judah into captivity, and brought the kingdom of Judah to an end.
Cyrus, king of Persia, ultimately conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Isaiah presents this pagan king, who does not even know the God of Israel, as God’s chosen instrument, raised up and empowered for the sake of his chosen people.
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,
The passage begins with the remarkable designation of Cyrus as the LORD’s “anointed.”
The Hebrew word māšîah means “anointed one” and is the word from which we derive “messiah.” It is most often associated with Israel’s kings, particularly those of the line of David. Cyrus is the only foreign ruler in the Old Testament to receive this title.
Cyrus does not know the God of Israel, as the passage will repeatedly emphasize. Nevertheless, God has chosen this foreign king for a particular role in his plan for Israel.
whose right hand I grasp,
To grasp Cyrus by the right hand suggests divine assistance, empowerment, and commissioning. Cyrus may not recognize the God of Israel, but Isaiah presents his extraordinary success as something ultimately enabled and directed by God.
God had worked through foreign rulers before, often using them as instruments of judgment against Israel (e.g., Assyria in Isaiah 10; Nebuchadnezzar in Jeremiah 25 and 27). Cyrus’ role is strikingly different: God empowers this pagan king for victories that benefit both Cyrus and God’s chosen people.
subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred:
Cyrus was an extraordinarily successful conqueror, eventually establishing the vast Persian Empire. Isaiah sees behind his victories the sovereign action of God, directing the course of history according to his own purposes.
The image of open doors and gates left unbarred evokes fortified cities whose defenses could not withstand Cyrus. In the ancient world, walls and heavily secured gates were a city’s principal protection; these seemingly formidable barriers yielded before him.
But the emphasis remains on God rather than Cyrus. It is God who opens the doors and leaves 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.
Here God reveals why Cyrus has been given this remarkable role: it is for the sake of Israel, God’s chosen people.
The contrast is striking. God knows Cyrus and calls him by name, even though Cyrus does not know God. Divine providence does not depend upon human recognition. God can work through people who are entirely unaware of the part they play in his purposes.
I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me.
This is a radical claim in the polytheistic world of the ancient Near East, where different peoples and nations worshiped their own gods. Israel’s defeat and exile might easily have been interpreted as evidence that the gods of Babylon had triumphed over the God of Israel.
Isaiah declares precisely the opposite. The LORD is not merely Israel’s God among the gods of other nations; he is the only God. His authority extends over every nation and ruler, including Cyrus, a pagan king who does not even know him.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun men may know that there is none besides me.
God’s purpose extends beyond what he is accomplishing for Israel. Through his direction of human history, he intends to make himself known throughout the world.
“Toward the rising and the setting of the sun” encompasses the whole earth, from east to west. The God whose people have suffered defeat and exile is nevertheless revealed as the Lord of every nation and every ruler.
I am the LORD, there is no other.
The repetition brings the passage back to its central claim: the LORD alone is God.
Cyrus’ role in Israel’s history bears this out. After conquering Babylon, he permitted the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:1-8).
The pagan king who did not know the LORD nevertheless became his instrument for restoring the people of Israel to their homeland.
2nd Reading – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
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 week begins a five-week semi-continuous reading of Saint Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, extending through the end of the liturgical year.
1 Thessalonians is generally regarded as Paul’s earliest surviving letter, probably written around AD 50-51. Today we hear Paul’s opening greeting.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace.
Paul follows the conventional form of an ancient letter, beginning by naming the senders, identifying the recipients, and offering a greeting. Silvanus and Timothy were Paul’s companions in the mission to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9).
Notice that Paul identifies them not simply as the church at Thessalonica, but as the church “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Their identity as a Christian community is grounded in their relationship with God and Christ.
The ordinary Greek greeting was chairein, essentially “greetings.” Paul adapts this conventional greeting with the related word charis, “grace,” and pairs it with eirēnē, “peace,” which evokes the Hebrew shālôm.
In this way, Paul draws upon both Greek and Jewish traditions while giving the greeting a distinctly Christian meaning: he invokes God’s freely given grace and the peace that flows from it, the wholeness and well-being that come from life in communion with God.
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,
Paul expresses his gratitude for the Thessalonian Christians by recalling the evidence that the gospel has taken root in their lives.
Here we find the familiar Pauline triad of faith, love, and hope. None is presented merely as an interior disposition: faith expresses itself in action, love in labor, and hope in perseverance.
The Thessalonian Christians had experienced opposition and suffering almost from the beginning of their conversion (Acts 17:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 2:14). Their “endurance in hope” is a hope in Christ strong enough to sustain them through adversity.
before our God and Father, knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen.
Paul describes the Thessalonians as both “loved by God” and “chosen.” Behind both Paul’s missionary work and their response to his preaching stands the gracious initiative of God.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
Paul recognizes this divine initiative in the way the gospel was received among them: it came not merely as words, but “in power and in the Holy Spirit.”
“It must be said that the Holy Spirit is the principal agent of evangelization: it is He who impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and it is He who in the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood.” (Pope Saint Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 75)
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.”
Our gospel reading is a continuation from last week, finding Jesus once again in a confrontation with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Having failed to discredit his authority through their earlier challenges, his opponents now attempt to trap him with a politically dangerous question about paying taxes to Rome.
The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
The Pharisees were an influential Jewish religious movement known for their careful observance and interpretation of the Law. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, they frequently challenge Jesus over his teaching and authority.
Here their purpose is explicitly hostile. They are not seeking Jesus’ judgment on a difficult question in good faith; they are looking for an answer that can be used against him.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,
The Pharisees and Herodians were unlikely allies.
The Herodians were supporters of the dynasty established by Herod the Great, whom Rome had installed as “King of the Jews.” The Herodian rulers depended upon Roman support for their power, and their supporters therefore accepted cooperation with Rome as a political necessity.
The Pharisees, by contrast, were deeply committed to Israel’s identity as God’s chosen people and to faithful observance of his Law. Although they were not political revolutionaries, subjection to a pagan foreign power presented serious religious and national concerns, and Roman taxation was a tangible sign of that subjection.
Despite their very different outlooks and interests, their hostility toward Jesus was sufficient to bring them together.
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.
They begin with flattery, presenting their question as a sincere request for guidance.
Ironically, what they say about Jesus is true. He does teach the way of God in truth, and he does not alter his teaching according to the status or opinions of those before him. These very qualities make it impossible to manipulate him with the trap they are preparing.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
The census tax was a Roman tax imposed upon the population of Judea and was a particularly sensitive symbol of foreign rule. The question is not merely whether paying taxes is desirable, but whether it is “lawful”: whether a faithful Jew may legitimately pay the tax demanded by a pagan emperor.
The presence of both Pharisees and Herodians now reveals the ingenuity of the trap. If Jesus replies that it is lawful to pay the tax, the Pharisees could use his answer to discredit him among those who deeply resented Roman rule and taxation. If Jesus says that it is unlawful, the Herodians could denounce him to the Roman authorities as opposing Caesar.
Their question is designed to force Jesus into choosing between two dangerous alternatives.
Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Jesus immediately exposes the dishonesty behind their question.
They are hypocrites because their supposed desire for guidance is a sham. They present themselves as sincere seekers of truth while deliberately trying to use Jesus’ answer against him.
Show me the coin that pays the census tax.”
The tax was paid with a Roman denarius, which bore the image of the emperor Tiberius and an inscription proclaiming him “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus.” Augustus had been officially declared a god after his death. On the reverse was another inscription identifying Tiberius as pontifex maximus, the chief priest of Roman religion.
For observant Jews, the coin’s imagery and claims could be deeply objectionable. The coin embodied not only Roman political domination but also the divine claims and pagan religious authority associated with imperial rule.
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
Jesus’ request for them to produce a coin is a shrewd and subtle move. It’s ironic that the men attempting to trap Jesus over the legitimacy of paying the Roman tax are themselves carrying the Roman currency with which the tax is paid.
Whatever their objections to Roman rule, they already participate in the economic system through which the tax is paid.
He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”
Jesus is obviously not asking this question in order to learn something; everyone present knows the answer. He is directing their attention to two features of the coin: its image and its inscription, which will provide the basis for Jesus’ response.
They replied, “Caesar’s.”
In answering the question, Jesus’ opponents acknowledge the coin’s unmistakable association with Caesar.
At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
Jesus’ answer is so succinct and so famous that it is easy to overlook how much is contained within it. In a single sentence, he escapes the trap while saying something profound about the claims of political authority and the far greater claim of God.
The verb translated “repay” (apodidōmi) means to give back or render what is due. Since the coin bears Caesar’s image and inscription, Jesus tells them to return to Caesar what properly belongs to Caesar.
His answer recognizes that legitimate obligations may be owed to civil authority. Jesus neither endorses Roman imperial claims without qualification nor makes rejection of the tax a requirement of fidelity to God. The trap fails because the alternatives presented by his opponents are false: one’s obligations to civil authority and one’s obligations to God are not necessarily in conflict.
But Jesus does far more than escape their trap. The second half of his answer places Caesar’s claim within a much greater reality: “and to God what belongs to God.”
Early Christian writers found a further meaning in Jesus’ reference to the “image.” Tertullian, for example, contrasts Caesar’s image on the coin with the image of God borne by the human person (Genesis 1:26-27).
This gives Jesus’ statement a profound biblical resonance. If the coin bearing Caesar’s image may be rendered to Caesar, then the person who bears God’s image belongs ultimately to God.
Caesar may therefore have a legitimate claim, but it is limited. God alone has a claim upon the whole person, and Caesar himself remains subject to God’s sovereignty.
Connections and Themes
God alone is sovereign. Both our first reading and Gospel reading address the place of earthly authority within the much greater sovereignty of God.
Scripture does not deny the reality or legitimacy of human authority. Nations have rulers, governments exercise power, and people have genuine obligations within the societies in which they live. Yet no earthly authority is ultimate or independent of God.
This distinction protects us from two opposite errors. We need not regard political authority as inherently opposed to God’s purposes, but neither can we give it the absolute allegiance that belongs to God alone. Governments and rulers occupy a real but limited place within an order that ultimately belongs to God.
For Christians, therefore, civic obligations form part of life in the world, but they can never define the deepest level of our identity or allegiance. We belong first and finally to God. Every other loyalty, obligation, and authority must find its proper place beneath that fundamental truth.
Faith, hope, and love. Our ultimate allegiance to God is not merely something we profess; it becomes visible in the way we live.
Saint Paul’s faith, hope, and love show what allegiance to God looks like when it takes flesh in ordinary Christian life. The sovereignty of God proclaimed in the other readings is not merely a truth to acknowledge; it calls forth a life transformed by the gospel.
This provides an important complement to the question of authority raised by the other readings. Christian fidelity is not defined primarily by our attitude toward the powers and institutions around us. It is defined by the life God produces within us through the Holy Spirit.
Whatever political or social circumstances Christians inhabit, their deepest calling remains the same: a faith that acts, a love that serves, and a hope that endures. These are the visible marks of a life whose ultimate allegiance belongs to God.
Whose image do we bear? Jesus’ question about the image on Caesar’s coin points toward a much deeper biblical truth: every human person is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We therefore belong ultimately to the God whose image we bear.
That image gives every human life an inherent dignity. Our worth does not depend upon wealth, status, achievement, usefulness, or the judgment of others. It comes from God and belongs equally to every person.
But God’s image speaks not only of our dignity; it also speaks of our vocation. We are created to reflect God’s goodness in the world and, through grace, to grow ever more fully into his likeness.
Christ, “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), shows us perfectly both who God is and what humanity is called to become. To bear God’s image is therefore both a gift and a calling: it tells us who we are, how we should regard one another, and what we are created to become.
