A Homily on the Gospel of the Twenty- Second Sunday after Pentecost

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. This homily relates the Gospel of the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost (Mt 22:15-21) which, according to older rubrics, was commemorated nevertheless.

+ In preaching at matins this morning on the famous teaching that the Church places before us in the Holy Gospel of this Mass—to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s—the fourth century Doctor of the Church, St Hilary of Poitiers, praises Our Lord’s acumen in the faces of the sly Pharisees and notes that it is perfectly just, if we rely on what the secular authority provides, to pay what it demands of us. Taxes have their purpose and enable a well-organised society to provide for its members equitably.
 
Of course, those responsible for the administration of public revenues must act fairly, use the funds prudently and be ever conscious that stewards must one day give an account of their stewardship. We have seen more than enough reports of the wanton squandering of public monies on simply ridiculous projects that have more to do with political ideologies than they do the common good of society. So too, the question of the State funding intrinsically evil acts, particularly in respect of human life, remains very much a live issue.
 
It is by no means easy to render unto Caesar what is rightly his when he and his officials squander what is entrusted to them or use them to undermine the fundamental values upon which society is built, such as the inviolable right of the innocent to life and the God-given nature and purpose of human sexuality and of the family. In such a situation our witness to the Truth is vital. We must never forget that our baptismal vocation is to be “the light of the world,” and that we are called to “let [our] light so shine before men, that they may see [our] good works and give glory to [our] Father who is in heaven.” (Mt. 5:14-16)
 
St Hilary also notes that, “on the other hand, we are obliged to render to God the things that are His: our body, our soul, our will.” “For,” the saint insists, “we have these things in their perfection and their growth from God, and consequently it is just it is just that they give themselves back completely to Him…”
 
We have, no doubt, heard this Gospel many times and it has often reminded us that we must worship Almighty God at least weekly at Sunday Mass and pray personally and keep the moral law—all of that is perfectly true. But St Hilary takes us further and requires that we explicitly give to God our body, our soul and our will. Whilst we would never cede these things to the State, and rightly reject totalitarian attempts so to do, we do tend to hesitate in giving them completely over to God. We speak of “my body”, not the body which God has given me through my parents. We forget that our souls are in fact lovingly created by God for life with Him in eternity. And we preciously guard our independence of will, often ignoring the fact that only in conforming my will to that of God shall I find the true peace of mind, heart and body that He has planned for me from all eternity.
 
For in giving to God what is His, and in giving to Ceasar what is his, the fact is that “I” don’t count that much. My will is not sovereign. To put it another way, the Gospel does not command me to give myself what “I” want. The only thing it commands is for me to give; to give appropriately according to what is due—even in self-sacrifice when necessary. For, as Our Lord teaches, “it is in giving that we receive.” (Lk 6:38)
 
This truth that the giving of my will to God is not only a necessary facet of Christian discipleship, but is evangelically and eternally fruitful, is exemplified most clearly and beautifully in the vows and promises offered to God publicly and solemnly in the Sacred Liturgy by those called to Christian marriage, to the monastic or religious life and to Holy Orders. For in each of these situations we give back to God our bodies, our souls and our wills for His divine purposes, placing ourselves and our egos at His disposition, even unto death, just as the grain of wheat that must first die in order to bear abundant fruit. (See: Jn 12:24)
 
This is not at all easy in a world that forms us to do what I want and what pleases me above all—hence the crisis in true vocations to marriage, the monastic and religious life and to the priesthood. It is hard enough to contemplate committing to giving my own will back to God, let alone to persevere in that daily self-giving that perseverance in each and every one of these vocations demands. The number of vocation candidates we encounter who vigorously seek their own will and who never speak of finding or following God’s plan is truly astounding!
 
Sadly, we know only to well the scandal of those who attempt to take back that which they have promised to God, and the harm that this causes. But, as the Suscipe chant at monastic profession teaches, it is in the Lord’s receiving of what we offer—our entire selves—that we shall find life, be our vocation vowed, ordained or otherwise. For God will not be outdone in generosity!
 
Let us offer ourselves anew—body, soul and will—in this Holy Mass, each according to our particular vocation, begging the graces necessary to be ever more generously faithful in rendering unto God what is rightly His. +