THE LORD OF HISTORY – Saint Agnes Catholic Church

In Isaiah 45:1-6, the prophet called Cyrus, the king of Persia, as the anointed one, the Messiah which were titles used for David and especially for Jesus. Cyrus was not a Jew and did not know and acknowledge Yahweh, the God of Israel. He defeated the Babylonians and became the greatest benefactor of Israel by granting freedom to the Jews, allowing them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. He was called the anointed Cyrus because God can work even through people who does not know and acknowledge Him. He is the Lord of history and He is always in charge and in Control. Nothing is beyond God’s redemption. When the Pharisees and the Herodians conspired to destroy the influence of Jesus, they tested Him by bringing the burning issue of census tax (Matthew 22:1-22). Jesus had no way out because a yes answer would alienate the Jews who were against the tax imposed by the Romans when Judea became a province of Rome. A no answer would lead to His arrest by the Romans. Hence, the famous reply of Jesus, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God! (Mt 22:21)” Hearing that, His enemies were amazed and they went away speechless. The response of Jesus to the religious elite does not advocate the separation between the sacred and the secular. It was not in the mind of the evangelist Matthew. What Jesus is saying is that we all belong to God and our allegiance to Him must be absolute. We are created in the likeness and image of God and Jesus came to restore that tarnished image because of sin. God is the Lord of history and has the ultimate dominion. All authority comes from God and our response to God must be total not divided. The kingdom of God embraces every aspect of human life. We are called to be responsible stewards of creation and to submit ourselves to civil authority only to the extent that it serves the common good. In submitting ourselves totally to the sovereignty of God, concerns of lesser authorities will be met. As St. Thomas More said, “I am the king’s good servant but God’s first!”