Our Hands Are Not Empty

Homily – October 19, 2014 (Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time - A)
Readings: Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6; Psalm 96: 1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10 (7b); 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5b; Matthew 22: 15-21

Our Hands Are Not Empty!

One of my joys of serving as a Deacon is that… and this is how it was phrased in our formation program… The Deacon is called to serve the Church keeping one foot in the clergy and one foot in the laity. The benefit of this role is that Deacons are called to do more than be a representative of each to the other. They are called to live and give God all that they have and are, so that clergy and laity a like, will follow one another in the work of the Church. It’s Mission Sunday this week, so as the baptized believers WE share in the priesthood of Christ, and in His prophetic and royal mission!

Like Fr., and you, and all of us in the church, We are called to serve! I serve as a husband, parent, friend, neighbor, employee, and Deacon… Also like Fr., you and all in the church, I am working a lot these days! The Church teaches us that the person baptized belongs no longer to themselves, but to him who sacrificed, died and rose for us. My friends, as Catholics we are called to be subject to others and to serve them in communion with the Church, because that’s why God created us, and that’s why today’s Word challenges us to give all of creation, and all of our love, work, and sacrifice back to HIM.

Take Cyrus for example… By the way, who was Cyrus? Well first, he was the only “Non-Israelite” referred to in the Old Testament as “anointed”… in Hebrew the word is “meshiah” which the word Messiah is derived. In Greek Christos which is where we get the name Christ. But it is important to note that in this context Isaiah is not referring to the one who will come at the end of time, but rather to kings, prophets and priests. Cyrus the Great would be the king who reigned at the end of the Babylonian Captivity, or the Hebrew exile. God chose Cyrus for the sake of His people, so that he would allow them to return to their homeland… Isaiah says that Lord has called him by name “though he knew him not.” Today’s first reading reassures us that no matter the circumstances or our individual or communal life, God can, and will work through us… Our task is to recognize His presence in our work and in our families!

Speaking of family, the Holy Father’s special session of the Family Synod has concluded in Rome, and while there is much more discussion ahead, our Church continues to celebrate and remain truly focused on the family, laying out its role in participating in this Mission. So, families, where do YOU work, on base or down the street? Kids, do you work hard in your school? Parents, are you employed by a big company, or do you run your own? For that matter, are you employed at all? Well, no matter what you do, you have decided to work and live here in the greater Madison Metro Area, and realtors in the congregation will tell you that this area has a little bit of something for everyone. Many people from many places have chosen to converge here to call this home! In today’s second reading, we are taken to a place called Thes-a-lo-ni'-ka, or Thessalonike, or Thessalonikeus. Thessalonica exists today as the Greek city of Saloniki. Originally the name of the city was Therma, or Therme, which is Greek for “Hot Bath” or “Hot Springs”. In Roman times, it was given the title of "free city" allowing it to administer its own affairs. It was full of people and a wealthy city indeed. The city has been home to the great naval station of the Macedonians. It was on the main Roman highway known as the Egnatian Way. It connected Rome in the west to its imperial territories to the east and north of the Aegean Sea. Possessing its excellent harbor and being located on the Egnatian Way, Thessalonica shared the traffic of trade from the east to the west with Corinth. The city was a major sea trade port of the Roman Empire and a commercial center of great importance. Being the capital city of the area and a major military station and commercial center, Thessalonica was host or home to many different people from all regions of the Roman Empire--Roman officials, Roman soldiers and sailors, shippers and merchants, travelers and visitors, Gentiles in great numbers as well as Jews. Thessalonica was the type of city Paul sought to conduct a prolonged ministry of preaching the gospel.

Why? Because, it too had a little bit of something for everyone. Many people from many places chose to converge there and call it home! But also like here, I’ll betcha they too traveled back up north, or back east to the old house every now and then. So if Paul could concentrate on the port city of Thessalonica, and the many traveler who came to work and live, and occasionally head up north, or back east, they would be carrying the Good News with them. Today’s second reading is from the beginning of the Letter to the Thessalonians, most likely written by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy. It is said to be one of the oldest writing from the New Testament written in or around 51 AD, which is simply 18 years after the Resurrection of Christ. What’s great about this letter is that it provides a wealth of information about the early Church and the way it preached this Good News. Paul recognizes just how blessed they, and if you haven’t noticed the comparison yet, how blessed we are to have been called to do this great work for the faith. In the hustle and the bustle of this great city Paul was focused on the reality that there were many peddlers of new religions also seeking opportunities to spread their word around town, and back east! Like Cyrus in Isaiah, Paul wants us to know that WE ARE LOVED AND HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY THE ONE TRUE GOD to share that love HERE IN THIS PLACE! Paul wants us to know that faith is not about argument or rhetoric, but rather it is powered by the Holy Spirit in the work of our hands.

Finally, Jesus leaves us with somewhat of a conundrum with his interaction with the Pharisees and their attempt to trap him, which by the way didn’t succeed. Who should we follow the image and the inscription on the coin or the God who calls us? While the answer on one level is obvious, Jesus also asks us, the Church to simply recognize that the one in need of the coin… your local tax guy, or the store, or you and your business… can have it! Madison, and other communities need good roads, and great schools, and a fun parade now and then. So render unto Caesar what is his. Pay your fare share to enjoy the benefits of your city. But once you give away the coin with its images, inscriptions and its supposed value, what do you have left? Correct, your hand! The real question then, challenging us today, is to forget the image and the inscription on the coin and concentrate on the image of God and the inscription of His Word which is in your heart, initiated by your baptism! Look at the Gospel again, and note that the question posed to Jesus was about a census tax, not a sales or income tax. Who pays a census taxt? Citizens. Jesus is actually responding with something very subtle, and quite radical. Since we are children of the one true God, and called to live not in the world, but in Him alone... We're just passing through. We are not citizens, and therefore we need not worry about such challenges of whether a census tax is correct under religious law. It is a moot point. It can't possibly apply. Caesar's tax can never be a matter of our religious journey towards understanding the God who loves us. He is love, and that love has no conditions, certainly not a monetary one. So the conundrum is not whether we pay the government, but rather whther we see ourselves as "the coin", with God's image and inscription minted in our lives, ready to be spent via His will through the joys and sacrifices of our efforts! Let us work today within this community of ours, but let’s give to the Lord all that we have and all that we are in the work of these hands.

When the coin is gone, and in the pockets of those who need to be paid, our hands are not empty… No, on the contrary, they are very ready to serve, maybe even like that of Cyrus or the Thessalonians, for in our baptism, we are anointed as priest, prophet and king, loved and chosen by the one true God to continue our work and our Mission!