[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, October 18, 2026, the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
[00:00:24] This week's episode is entitled: To Pay or Not to Pay… Taxes. And in the Gospel, Matthew alerts us to a rather sinister alliance between two groups of Jewish leaders who are more often opponents rather than allies.
[00:00:44] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
Jesus’ words in this week's parable are all too often misunderstood, so let's not make that same mistake. Isaiah reminds us that God can use anyone or anything to bring about good things for us, so let's be grateful for his blessings in whatever packaging they arrive. Paul commends the Thessalonians for the faith, love, and hope they demonstrate to others. It would be wonderful if people spoke of us the way Paul spoke of the Thessalonians. As faithful Christians, that goal should be an easy one to achieve.
[00:01:28] So, let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the words of Sacred Scripture. Help us understand them and live according to what they teach us. Fill us with the faith, love, and hope we need to share with others, so that everyone we encounter will know we are your followers. For that is the best thing anyone could say about any of us! We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:02:05] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
[00:02:11] Our Gospel this week is from Matthew 22: 15-21.
“The Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. They sent their disciples to him along with the Hero’di-ans, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax.’ And they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar's.’ Then he said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.’”
[00:03:20] This week's Gospel takes up where last week's Gospel left off. And remember that last week, Matthew expanded the group to whom Jesus was speaking in the temple by including the Pharisees in their number. And this week, Matthew tells us that the Pharisees have, essentially, flounced off in a huff… they have heard enough… they feel they have been insulted enough… and now it's time to put an end to this upstart rabbi from a backwater town who has absolutely no right to correct them!
[00:04:00] They are from the big city of Jerusalem; they have studied with the most illustrious teachers, so their knowledge - they think - far exceeds his. In fact, they are so incensed that they even decide to temporarily align themselves with the Herodians, a group with whom they are typically at odds. Jesus serves as an irritant to both groups, a common enemy, if you will. So, let's listen as these events unfold in Matthew's Gospel…
“The Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk.”
[00:04:46] In their anger, they have stormed off in a huff to hatch a plot against Jesus. And what scheme did they invent?
[00:04:57] “[The Pharisees] sent their disciples to [Jesus] along with the Hero’di-ans.”
[00:05:05] This is the first and only time in Matthew's Gospel that we encounter the Herodians, so it's important that we understand who they really are. They were political animals, not religious leaders. They were ardent supporters of the Herodian dynasty, which began when Herod the Great was appointed king by the Roman Senate in 37 BC and then continued with his sons Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip the Tetrarch. After the death of Herod the Great, Herod Antipas (who ruled the regions of Galilee and Perea) formed an alliance with Rome in order to hold onto his political power. Which meant that the Herodians also had to support Roman rule. That was a very unpopular position and the Herodians were often viewed as traitors by their fellow Jews.
[00:06:20] The fact that the Pharisees and the Herodians are cooperating with each other indicates that Jesus' popularity has reached a point where he poses a real threat to their religious and political authority. Jesus is growing in popularity, he does attract great crowds, but he is not the backwater rustic that these big city Pharisees think he is. So, when Jesus sees these two groups working together, he knows immediately that they are up to no good.
[00:07:02] And together they approach Jesus…
“saying, ‘Teacher,’”
Notice how they address Jesus - as Teacher, Rabbi.
“we know that you are true,”
The NAB says: that you are a truthful man
“and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man;”
Again, the NAB says that a bit differently. It says that Jesus is not concerned with anyone's opinion>
“for you do not regard the position of men.”
[00:07:37] The NAB says status rather than position… meaning that they don't think Jesus is sophisticated enough to realize that he should respect them! And while all these remarks are meant to sound flattering, they are really nothing more than thinly veiled insults.
“Tell us, then, what you think.”
[00:08:07] After all that false flattery, they are finally ready to set their trap.
[00:08:14] “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
[00:08:20] The problem with the question they ask is that they anticipate only two possible answers: yes or no. And to their way of thinking, either answer would be wrong. If Jesus says: Yes, pay taxes to Caesar - then the crowds would think he was a Roman sympathizer and he would lose the support of faithful Jews. If Jesus says: No, don't pay taxes to Caesar - then he would be instigating a revolt against Rome, and the Roman authorities would arrest him. Either way, the Pharisees and the Herodians think they will be rid of Jesus, which eliminates any potential threat to their authority.
[00:09:12] “But Jesus, aware of their malice,”
[00:09:16] Again, Jesus knows these two unlikely allies have an ulterior motive.
[00:09:24] “[Jesus] said, ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax.’”
[00:09:33] The NAB says: Show me the coin that pays the census tax, meaning the tax paid to the Roman occupying force - as opposed to the coins used to pay the temple tax. And that difference is important! All faithful Jews would agree that the temple tax should be paid. The census tax is the one they are challenging Jesus over… and that census tax really is a point of contention with faithful Jews.
[00:10:08] “And they brought him a coin.”
Now the coin used to pay the census tax was a Roman denarius, which - because the coin carried the image of Caesar - was considered idolatrous by faithful Jews. We don't know who handed Jesus the coin, and here's why that detail is irrelevant.
[00:10:36] If the Pharisees handed Jesus the coin, that would prove their hypocrisy, since they shouldn't even have Roman coins on their persons. The Herodians, on the other hand, typically did carry Roman coins - but even they shouldn't have them in the temple area. So, regardless of who handed Jesus the coin, the very fact that someone did hand him a Roman coin in the temple area proves the hypocrisy of which Jesus had accused these men.
[00:11:15] “And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar's.’”
And with those words, not only do the Pharisees and Herodians fail to trap Jesus, they actually fall into a trap he set for them without ever being aware of its existence.
[00:11:39] “Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.’”
[00:11:52] Jesus’ response shows the Pharisees and Herodians that there was a third answer to their question that they never even considered. And those words have all too often been misunderstood and misinterpreted.
They have been used to suggest that taxation is invalid for people of faith, or that people of faith shouldn't participate in the political arena at all, or that participation in the political arena shouldn't be influenced by one's faith.
[00:12:36] Jesus meant none of those things!
[00:12:40] He did mean that both religious and political obligations should be fulfilled by people of faith! He did mean that being a person of faith does not abnegate the responsibility to be a good citizen. That paying taxes doesn't compromise one's duty to God, nor does serving God exempt anyone from participating in the governing process or exercising their civic responsibilities.
[00:13:23] So, let's make sure we thoroughly understand those words from Sacred Scripture and help others understand them properly as well.
[00:13:37] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6.
“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and uncover the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by name, I surname you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I clothe you, though you do not know me, that men may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
[00:14:44] For the third week in a row, we hear from the prophet Isaiah in our First Reading. This week's passage, however, is from 2nd Isaiah (chapters 40 to 55), and it was written for those who were being held captive in Babylon. The words Babylonian Captivity are quite familiar, but their historical context may not be, so let's fix that.
[00:15:14] In 587 BC, following a 2 ½ year siege, the Babylonians - whose king was Nebuchadnezzar II - conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah, destroyed the capital city of Jerusalem, razed Solomon's temple, and deported the first of what became several waves of captives. That first wave consisted of the newly deposed king of Judah, Jeconiah, his court officials, and most of the rich and powerful people of Jerusalem, including the prophet Isaiah.
[00:16:00] Then in 540 BC, the Persians - whose leader was Cyrus the Great - conquered the Babylonians and in 539 BC, Cyrus issued an edict calling for the repatriation of the exiles to their homeland and the rebuilding of the temple.
The text of Cyrus' edict is recorded at the very end of 2nd Chronicles 36 and the very beginning of Ezra 1.
[00:16:43] Our First Reading this week, however, is from chapter 45 of 2nd Isaiah, and the entire chapter focuses primarily on the uniqueness of God… but the few verses that comprise this passage mention Cyrus because, as Isaiah tells us, God in his uniqueness used Cyrus to accomplish the people's return to Jerusalem. So, let's listen to what Isaiah has to say about God and Cyrus…
[00:17:27] “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,”
[00:17:33] There is no eschatological dimension when Isaiah uses the term anointed here. Isaiah isn't talking about the Messiah, he is not talking about judgment, he simply means a legitimately anointed king… the king of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great.
“whose right hand I have grasped,”
[00:18:06] A person's right hand represented strength and authority in the Bible, so when Isaiah says God grasped Cyrus' right hand (figuratively, of course) it was to indicate that God supported Cyrus, that God bestowed his favor upon Cyrus, that Cyrus would accomplish God's divine purpose, all so that Cyrus would know that Israel's God is the Lord.
After all, God didn't choose Cyrus just to make things better for Cyrus; God chose Cyrus for the benefit of God's Chosen People. And remember, chapter 45 of Isaiah is not about Cyrus' accomplishments, it is about the uniqueness of God! It just so happens that God chose Cyrus to advance his plan for his Chosen People.
“to subdue nations before him”
[00:19:31] The Persian empire had become the dominant power in the region, defeating not just the Babylonians, but the Medes, the Lydians, and the Chaldeans, among many others. At its peak, the Persian empire controlled over 2 million miles2 of territory, making it the largest empire of its time.
[00:20:01] “and uncover the loins of kings,”
[00:20:05] That's a very strange turn of phrase, but it means that kings were divested of their rightful authority, that they were made weak or vulnerable. The NAB translates that as: making kings run in his service. Another strange turn of phrase.
But Isaiah is saying that God will make the kings of other nations vulnerable, weak, so that they can be defeated and become subservient to Cyrus.
“to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:”
[00:20:53] This phrase has two levels of meaning. First, that Cyrus would defeat every enemy, that even well-fortified cities would present no obstacle to Cyrus' victory over them, that Cyrus' military advances simply cannot be stopped.
[00:21:20] And to understand the second level, we have to think back a couple of months to when we learned about the duties of a royal steward from the story of Shebna in Isaiah 22… because this phrase also means that men who had been kings in their own right have now become vassals of Cyrus, they have been reduced to acting as stewards in service to Cyrus. And remember, stewards exercise authority in the king's absence, so men who had held their own authority as kings are now reduced to merely exercising authority on Cyrus' behalf and that he – Cyrus - now holds absolute control over those vassal kings.
“For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen,”
Jacob, of course, was one of the patriarchs; his name was changed to Israel and each of his 12 sons became the namesake of one of the 12 tribes of Israel - sort of. At any rate, that's a poetic way of saying Jacob and his descendants, God's Chosen People.
[00:22:59] “I call you by your name,”
Meaning that God called Cyrus for the sake of the Chosen People.
“I surname you, though you do not know me.”
[00:23:15] That's another odd turn of phrase - the NAB translates that as: giving you a title, though you knew me not. And the titles Cyrus acquired were anointed one (we heard that in Isaiah 45) and God's shepherd (which actually comes from an earlier chapter in Isaiah, Isaiah 44).
[00:23:40] “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;”
[00:23:47] There is that declaration of the uniqueness of God… and those or similar words appear over and over again throughout chapter 45.
“I clothe you, though you do not know me,”
That seems like a strange thing to say, and to fully understand it, we have to look back to verse 1, when God declared that he would “uncover the loins of kings” meaning that he would make them weak and vulnerable.
[00:24:28] So, when God declares here that he will clothe Cyrus, that means that God will strengthen Cyrus. And then we hear the words: though you do not know me, for a second time in this passage.
[00:24:49] Now, there is some debate about the meaning of those words… some Scripture scholars have suggested that Cyrus had access to the writings of the original prophet Isaiah, that he read them but didn't fully understand them, and that Cyrus attributed his victory over the Babylonians and the return of the exiles to Jerusalem to the God of the Jews.
[00:25:25] However, an ancient artifact called the Cyrus Cylinder seems to contradict that. The Cyrus Cylinder is a barrel-shaped baked clay artifact that was discovered during the archaeological excavations in Babylon in 1879 and is currently on display in the British Museum. That cylinder records that Marduk, a Babylonian god (and that's lowercase “g” god), summoned Cyrus to overthrow the Babylonian rulers.
[00:26:11] It has also been suggested that it was a common practice for the Persians to appropriate the authority of local deities and declare THEIR approval of Persian actions. And think about it… if Cyrus declared to the Babylonian people that one of their own gods had summoned him to defeat their armies and overthrow their king, that would certainly make it vastly easier to consolidate control of that newly acquired territory.
[00:26:53] That doesn't mean that Cyrus did or did not say the same thing to the Jewish people. It does mean that very few historical records, independent of the Biblical record, support the contention that Cyrus attributed his victory to the God of the Jewish people, to the one true God.
[00:27:22] From the Jewish perspective AND from the Christian perspective, the Bible says that God called Cyrus to defeat the Babylonians, release the exiles from captivity, and return them to Israel. And we also understand that God can use anyone or anything to bring about good for his people, so we do accept that the one, true God is used Cyrus to effect the return of the exiles.
I have offered this additional information simply because it's out there, it's readily available, and it can be used to refute what we believe, what the Bible records. So, people of faith should be aware of its existence and understand how to counter arguments that may arise because of that information.
[00:28:33] Then God's declaration continues…
“that men may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me;”
[00:28:48] Combining quotes from different Psalms is a very strange way of talking about the world, but that is what we have here. The words: “from the rising of the sun to its setting” are from Psalm 50 and Psalm 113; whereas the words: “as far as the east is from the west” come from Psalm 103. This combined phrase in Isaiah sounds weird, but regardless of how it sounds, the intent is to indicate that God's divine will, his identity, his uniqueness, is known by all the peoples of the earth.
[00:29:45] “I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
God repeats the declaration of his eternal uniqueness that we heard earlier in verse 5. This passage from Isaiah reminds us that sometimes God's blessings come from unlikely sources and that God can use anything to bring about good for his people.
[00:30:19] Cyrus, the king of Persia, became one of the greatest benefactors of ancient Israel. Not only did he allow the Jews to return to their homeland, but he provided the resources they needed to rebuild the temple. And remember in the book of Numbers, God even used a donkey to accomplish his will, so we should always be grateful for God's blessings, regardless of how they are packaged or who - or perhaps what - delivers them.
[00:31:02] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 96, and the refrain is:
“Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!”
[00:31:13] And here are the verses:
[00:31:16] “O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!”
“For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols; but the LORD made the heavens.”
“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!”
“Worship the Lord in holy attire; tremble before him, all the earth! Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established, it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.’”
[00:32:20] This Psalm is a Psalm of Praise for the kingship of God; it combines elements of a Praise Psalm with elements of a Royal Psalm. It invites all people, and - in fact - all creation to worship the God of Israel, the one, true God. These words also appear as part of King David's song of Thanksgiving in 1 Chronicles 16.
[00:32:54] And to put that in perspective, David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, the city of David, and placed it in a tent that he had prepared in advance specifically to house the Ark. On the very day that the Ark was installed in its new home, David declared that the Levites were to sing that song of thanksgiving for the first time. David's song, as recorded in 1 Chronicles, is considerably longer than Psalm 96, but all of the verses that make up Psalm 96 are contained in David's song of thanksgiving.
And one other thing I would like to point out before we move on. In the fourth and final stanza we hear the words: “Worship the Lord in holy attire” - and we should use those words as inspiration so that when we come to worship God, we should come in the best possible attire that we can, out of love for God and out of respect for his house.
[00:34:22] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is from 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5b.
“Paul, Silva’nus, and Timothy,
To the Church of the Thessalo’nians and in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for you all, consistently mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you; for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”
This is the first of four passages we will hear from 1 Thessalonians this fall. We should have five passages, but we'll miss the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time because the Solemnity of All Saints falls on a Sunday this year, so the Church will celebrate that occasion rather than the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time.
[00:35:57] 1 Thessalonians is primarily a Pastoral Letter sent to the Christian community in Thessalonica to encourage them as they try to live their faith in the midst of a predominantly pagan society. Thessalonica was a thriving commercial city, a port on the Aegean Sea, and the capital city of the Roman province of Macedonia, which would be in modern-day Greece.
[00:36:32] I will include a map of its location on my Instagram post this week.
This letter was written during the winter months of 50 - 51 AD, making it not only the earliest of all of Paul's letters, but the earliest of any of the New Testament writings.
[00:36:58] The date of this letter puts its composition toward the end of Paul's Second Missionary Journey (which took place between 49 and 51 AD), the same journey in which Paul founded the Church in Thessalonica. His companions on that journey were Silvanus and Timothy, which is why the letter opens with the names of all three men, and why so often throughout the letter Paul uses the words “we” and “our.”
[00:37:36] This passage is from the very beginning of the letter… it starts out with a formal greeting, as is typical for Paul's letters, and then goes into Paul's expression of gratitude, another common component in many of Paul's letters.
[00:37:58] So, let's listen as Paul begins this letter to the Thessalonians…
“Paul, Silva’nus, and Timothy, To the Church of the Thessalo’nians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.”
[00:38:19] The fact that Paul lists his name first of the three indicates, in no uncertain terms, that Paul is the leader of this missionary team. And when he says to the Church of the Thessalonians, he doesn't mean a church as we would assume it to be today, a separate, dedicated building constructed specifically as a place of worship. He most likely means a house church - a private home where the faithful would gather on a regular basis to talk about what they had learned, to help each other as they encountered difficulties in living their faith, and to share a meal together.
[00:39:17] And when Paul says: “Grace to you and peace” - he is wishing for them God's grace and God's peace.
[00:39:29] “We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
[00:39:52] And notice Paul's use of the words “we” and “our” which indicates that all three men are united in expressing their thanks to God for the Christians in In Thessalonica - and they do so by praying for them together, by uniting their prayers and offering them jointly to God.
[00:40:17] And what actions of the Thessalonian community do these three men commend to God? Their work of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfast hope. Paul will return to those three virtues, what the church now calls theological virtues, over and over throughout a number of his letters.
[00:40:51] Faith, Paul says, is demonstrated by action… in other words, faith prompts people to do good works.
[00:41:03] Love, however, Paul says, can be both difficult and inconvenient, which is why he calls it labor. But he also suggests that - in spite of the difficulty or inconvenience involved - love, by its very nature, makes that labor lighter and easier.
[00:41:30] Hope, Paul says, is something that must be constantly nourished… that patience and endurance strengthen hope, that the Christian community's patient endurance in the face of repeated pagan persecutions, will strengthen them and increase their hope for the rewards of God's kingdom.
Meaning that exercising the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love is not effortless.
Those words should speak to us today as well! When doing the good works that our faith prompts us to do becomes difficult, when love is inconvenient, when our hope falters, we need to be reminded that Jesus never promised that things would be easy! In fact, Jesus promised that we would each have our crosses to bear.
[00:42:58] “For we know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you;”
[00:43:04] Paul's words demonstrate that he holds great affection by for the Thessalonians and remind them that God's initiative always comes first… God always chooses us first!
“for our gospel”
[00:43:27] And that is lowercase “g” - gospel, meaning the good news of Jesus - the stories of his life, his teachings, his Death and his Resurrection. This letter is the very earliest of any of the New Testament writings - written years before any of the evangelists sat down to put pen to paper and record any of what we call the Gospels - the uppercase “G” Gospels in the Church today.
[00:44:01] “our gospel came to you not only in word,”
So, not only in the words preached by Paul and his companions.
“but also in power”
[00:44:15] The power that enabled Paul and his companions to undertake such a dangerous missionary journey and be fruitful in it… to be eloquent, to be fearless, and to perform miraculous deeds.
“and in the Holy Spirit”
[00:44:41] Because it was precisely the Holy Spirit who clothed Paul and his companions with power.
“and with full conviction.”
The full conviction of these three men of the rightness of their mission which made them effective in their preaching about Jesus, persuasive in their message about Jesus, and sincere in their own faith as disciples of Jesus.
The Thessalonian community responded enthusiastically to the teaching, the preaching, and the actions of Paul and his companions - Silvanus and Timothy - and they, in turn, commended the Christians in Thessalonica for their faith and love and hope despite the intense persecution the Thessalonians faced.
[00:45:46] Having the good opinion of others is something all of us hope for, isn't it? We would all like to have people speak as highly of us as Paul and his companions spoke of the Thessalonians. So, if we are faithful Christians, that should be achievable.
[00:46:12] Because if we love others as God loves us…
if we love our neighbor as we love ourselves…
if we share God's light with the world rather than keeping it hidden…
if we share the blessings we constantly receive from God, even if those blessings sometimes come from unexpected sources…
if we are people of faith, love, and hope, even when it's difficult…
then other people will know that we are followers of Jesus and that is the only identity we need to speak for us.
[00:47:04] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God Bless.
