29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Mark Gatto

Preached: October 18. 2026

The Roman Empire ruled over the land of Israel at the time of Jesus. Many were upset about this, as they were not completely free and sovereign. In Canada today, we might understand the feelings that they had at that time since we are beside an Empire that has leaders who speak about ruling over us and even taking us over as a 51 st State. But, at that time the people in the nation of Israel also saw themselves as a sacred nation connected to God. Therefore, being ruled by what they saw as the evil ungodly Roman Empire was scandalous.

So, when they asked Jesus the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not?” you see the conflict into which they were trying to put Jesus. For the Pharisees and the Herodians, their priority was their own power, political agenda and control. They created black and white, either/or situations in which there was clear good and evil. Jesus realizes that their real agenda had nothing to do with truth or the Roman rule over Israel. They were only wanting to use this agenda to bring down Jesus. He responds with that famous line, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus is putting everything into its proper place and realizes how relative are earthly nations and empires and political battles. In fact, the nation of Israel would soon be completely destroyed in the year 70 AD, with the Temple, the heart of their religious practice torn down. And a couple centuries later the mighty Roman Empire would collapse. Both of these that seemed so important to the Pharisees and Herodians, would disappear in a short time.

What we learn from Jesus in this encounter is the need to put all things in this life in their proper place. The answer of Jesus is connected to the first commandment. “You shall have no other gods before me.” It is a command against idolatry, we are not to have any idols which we embrace as a false god. Anything that absorbs all of our energy and time, that takes the place of God, is in its wrong place. We do not want to waste our life on things that will simply come to an end. Only in God does anything in this life take on lasting value.

Creation is good and all things in this life are able to be used for good. But, only when they do not take a place over God. What does this mean for you and me as we discern and reflect on our lives? We need to examine all things that we consider important in this life. What are we spending our energy and time on? At the end of our life, will we look at our time and energy spent on these things and feel that it was worth it, or will we feel that we had wasted our time on things that mean so little in the big picture of life?

Some examples:
I personally have always enjoyed sports. I still follow sports, whether baseball, hockey, basketball, and so on. But, lately I have really started wondering whether I want to waste much time and energy watching and engaging in sports. At the end of my life will that seem like wasted time? Does it take away from time better used in my relationships with people and with God in prayer? It is not either/or, it is not that sports is something bad, but I need to reflect on how it might be taking me away from the ultimate good of God. We could say, give to God what belongs to God and give to sports what belongs to sports.

What about politics and patriotism? Again, it is not either/or. I take an interest in politics and consider myself a patriotic Canadian. But, when patriotism leads us to an extreme form of nationalism that sees our side as good and the other side as evil, it leads us away from the kingdom of God. Does our politics and patriotism allow us to have a sense of solidarity with the rest of the world or lead us to be isolated and ignore the rest of humanity? Is our kingdom on earth of higher value than the kingdom of God?

Even our family becomes relative. Though we hopefully love and care for our families, it is not to be above the will of God and the common good of our society. A political leader or business leader who uses their power to promote and enrich their own family at the expense of the whole community has placed this above God. If enriching my family even justifies corruption then it has lost its proper place. When we truly give to God what belongs to God then we will also give to our family what is fruitful for a healthy family.

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give to God what belongs to God. Is there anything that is good and valuable if it leads us away from God? Is there anything worth all of our energy and time if at the end of our life it will all just come to an end? All things in this world are only of relative importance. Examine all the things you are spending your time and energy on, does it belong to Caesar or to God? At end of your life will you see that as good use of your time and energy?