29th Sunday A

Welcome to our Bible
Study
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time A
22 October 2017
World Mission Sunday
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
In aid of focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

1st reading: Isaiah 45:1.4-6
 1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose
right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him, and
making kings run in his service, opening doors before
him and leaving the gates unbarred: 4 For the sake of
Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen one, I have
called you by your name, giving you a title, though you
knew me not. 5 I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though
you know me not, 6 so that toward the rising and the
setting of the sun men may know that there is none
besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other.
The focus is on the call of Cyrus.

1st reading: Isaiah 45:1.4-6
 1 Thus says the LORD to
his anointed, Cyrus, whose
right hand I grasp, subduing
nations before him, and
making kings run in his
service, opening doors
before him and leaving the
gates unbarred: 4 For the
sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel my chosen one, I
have called you by your
name, giving you a title,
though you knew me not. 5
I am the LORD and there is
no other, there is no God
besides me. It is I who arm
you, though you know me
not, 6 so that toward the
rising and the setting of the
sun men may know that
there is none besides me. I
am the LORD, there is no
other.
Commentary
 In v.1, God talks to Cyrus (the Great), a
pagan king of Persia.
 The author is aware of Cyrus’ successful
activities:
 Subduing nations, kings (Babylon, Elam)
 Leaving doors open to the Lord
 V.4 contains the message of God to
Cyrus.
 God has called him, though Cyrus was
ignorant of him, to liberate Israel from the
bondage of the Babylonians.
 In v.5, God introduces himself to Cyrus.
 He is the Lord and God, no other besides
him. (He picks up Ex 20,2-3)
 It is God who makes him powerful.
 In v.6, God states his purpose for
empowering him:
 That people may realize there is no other
God than God.

Reflections on the 1st reading
 We, as individuals, may not know much about
God, but he may use us, like Cyrus, to be his
instrument in bringing peace and salvation to his
people.
 It is God who makes us accomplish great things.
 If we feel that God is calling us to do some
mission, we must say Yes to him. We learn more
about him later.

Resp. Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
 (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor.
1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
 4 For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
 7 Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
8 give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
 9 Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
10 say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.

Resp. Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
 (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor.
1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous
deeds.
 4 For great is the LORD and highly to
be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are
things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
 7 Give to the LORD, you families of
nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
8 give to the LORD the glory due his
name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
 9 Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
10 say among the nations: The LORD
is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.
Commentary
 V.1 exhorts everyone to sing to the
Lord.
 V.3 exhorts everyone to proclaim
God’s wonderful deeds to all.
 Vv.4-5 recognize the God of Israel as
the greatest and true God. Other
gods are nothing. They did not
create anything.
 Vv.7-8 exhort all families of the earth
to give praise, glory and gifts to God
in his Temple.
 Vv.9-10 exhort that people worship
God with proper attire (holy attire)
that they acclaim God as King who
governs with fairness.

Reflections on the Psalm
 We are called to give praise to God.
 We are enjoined to proclaim his greatness
and wonderful deeds.
 We don’t keep quiet about God.
 Our liturgies help us to express our praise
in an organized manner.

2nd reading: 1 Thess 1:1-5b
 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of
the Thessalonians in God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace. 2
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly 3
calling to mind your work of faith and labor of
love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus
Christ, before our God and Father, 4 knowing,
brothers loved by God, how you were chosen. 5
For our gospel did not come to you in word
alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit
and (with) much conviction. You know what sort
of people we were (among) you for your sake.
The focus is on the church of Thessalonica.

Greetings of Paul
 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the
Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ: grace to you and peace.
Thanksgiving of Paul
 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly 3 calling
to mind your work of faith and labor of love and
endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our
God and Father, 4 knowing, brothers loved by God, how
you were chosen.
The gospel preached that effected change
 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but
also in power and in the holy Spirit and (with) much
conviction. You know what sort of people we were
(among) you for your sake.
A simple outline!

Greetings of Paul
 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the
church of the Thessalonians in God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
 2 We give thanks to God always for all
of you, remembering you in our
prayers, unceasingly 3 calling to mind
your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord
Jesus Christ, before our God and
Father, 4 knowing, brothers loved by
God, how you were chosen.
The gospel preached that effected
change
 5 For our gospel did not come to you
in word alone, but also in power and
in the holy Spirit and (with) much
conviction. You know what sort of
people we were (among) you for your
sake.
Commentary
 In v.1, Paul, together with
Silvanus (Silas), and
Timothy send their
greetings to the Christians
in Thessalonika.
 1 Thess is the first letter
written by Paul.
 It displays his affection and
concern to his spiritual
sons and daughters, his
new friends, the fruits of
their missionary efforts.

Greetings of Paul
 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the
church of the Thessalonians in God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
 2 We give thanks to God always for all
of you, remembering you in our
prayers, unceasingly 3 calling to mind
your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord
Jesus Christ, before our God and
Father, 4 knowing, brothers loved by
God, how you were chosen.
The gospel preached that effected
change
 5 For our gospel did not come to you
in word alone, but also in power and
in the holy Spirit and (with) much
conviction. You know what sort of
people we were (among) you for your
sake.
 In vv.2-3, St. Paul is thankful to
God
 for the active faith of the
Thessalonians
 Their labor of love
 Their endurance in hope
 In v.4, Paul indicates how they
were chosen by God.
 V.5 indicates how the gospel
preached by Paul came to
them
 - in word
 - in power
 - and in the holy Spirit
 V.5b indicates how well Paul
and the others behaved for
their sake, so that they would
not be scandalized.

Reflections on the 2nd reading
 Do we love people whom we try to evangelize?
 Do we treat them with delicadeza or scandalize
them?
 If we are not careful with our dealings with them,
we cannot be missionaries.
 Like St. Paul, all missionaries, we, should leave
pleasant memories to those who welcome our
preaching.

Gospel reading: Matthew 22:15-21
 15 Then the Pharisees went off and plotted how they
might entrap him in speech. 16 They sent their disciples
to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know
that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of
God in accordance with the truth. And you are not
concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a
person's status. 17 Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is
it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" 18
Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing
me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin that pays the
census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin. 20
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose
inscription?" 21 They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said
to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."
The focus is on rendering to God what belongs to God.

The Malicious Scheme of the Pharisees
 15 Then the Pharisees went off and plotted how they
might entrap him in speech. 16 They sent their disciples
to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know
that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of
God in accordance with the truth. And you are not
concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a
person's status. 17 Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is
it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
The wise response of Jesus
 18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you
testing me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin that
pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman
coin. 20 He said to them, "Whose image is this and
whose inscription?" 21 They replied, "Caesar's." At that
he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to
Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
A simple outline!

 15 Then the Pharisees went off and
plotted how they might entrap him in
speech. 16 They sent their disciples to
him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a
truthful man and that you teach the
way of God in accordance with the
truth. And you are not concerned with
anyone's opinion, for you do not regard
a person's status. 17 Tell us, then,
what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay
the census tax to Caesar or not?"
 18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you
hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin that
pays the census tax." Then they
handed him the Roman coin. 20 He
said to them, "Whose image is this and
whose inscription?" 21 They replied,
"Caesar's." At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to
Caesar and to God what belongs to
God."
Commentary
 V.15 reveals the evil intent of
the Pharisees on Jesus.
 The Pharisees plotted to
destroy him, by entrapping him
in speech.
 V.16 reveals how they connive
with the Herodians (followers of
Herod Antipas) as accessories.
 In v.16b, they lace their evil
intent with sweet talk.
 They enumerate the good
traits of Jesus (which are
actually true).
 The trap is in v.17. It is a
question of paying or not the
census tax to Caesar.

 15 Then the Pharisees went off and
plotted how they might entrap him in
speech. 16 They sent their disciples to
him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a
truthful man and that you teach the
way of God in accordance with the
truth. And you are not concerned with
anyone's opinion, for you do not regard
a person's status. 17 Tell us, then,
what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay
the census tax to Caesar or not?"
 18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you
hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin that
pays the census tax." Then they
handed him the Roman coin. 20 He
said to them, "Whose image is this and
whose inscription?" 21 They replied,
"Caesar's." At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to
Caesar and to God what belongs to
God."
 In v.18, Jesus responds to
their malicious question, by
striking back, calling them
hypocrites.
 In the first place, Jesus should
not be talking to them.
 But in vv.19-21, he asks for a
coin.
 They hand him a Roman coin
with an image and inscription
of Caesar.
 In v.21b, Jesus gives his
enigmatic answer.
 They got more than what they
needed to know.
 He inserted God.
 What belongs to God is Jesus.
They should not destroy him.

Reflections on the gospel reading
 When we approach God, we must have the
proper motivation.
 Bad motivation does not lead us anywhere.
 In the same way, it is not right to put our
brothers and sisters to the test (ilagay sa
alanganin).
 We should purifying our motives when dealing
with our fellows.
 We better give justice to God and to our fellow
human beings.

Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
 The first reading reminds us that God may use
temporal powers to restore his people.
 The psalm celebrates God’s power and glory.
 The second reading reminds us to make good of
what we have learned from the gospel.
 The gospel reminds us to give God what is his.
We must be open to the new missionaries.

How to develop your homily / sharing
 We Christians must realize that God can use
(choose, anoint, send) any person to touch us.
 That “anointed” person may be someone we
have met for the first time, new, ignorant, does
not know theology very well, or, someone who
is powerful and talented.
 Like what God did to Cyrus in the first reading,
God sends him to liberate Israel from the
Babylonians.

 In the second reading, Paul and company
became God’s instruments of spreading the
gospel.
 They were successful evangelizers
(missionaries), though nobody trained them
formally.
 They might be neophyte missionaries, yet, they
were able to deliver the message of the gospel.
 They were happy to hear from their converts of
their faithfulness to the gospel and to Jesus.
 Their steadfast faith built the missionaries’ self-
confidence and gave them more courage to do
more.

 The gospel reading, teaches that we must
approach God with a pure heart and mind.
 The Sadducees approached Jesus with malice
(with bad intention).
 They did not get what they want. Their plans
were foiled and they were put to shame, by
being reminded that they should render to God
what is God’s.
 Jesus is God’s instrument (missionary par excellence) in
saving his people.
 Our mission is to teach people restore all things
back to God, and not appropriate anything as
our own and to accept Jesus.

 In our communities, we have the tendency to
deny God of his rights.
 This is manifested when we drive away someone
who is new, who might be sent by God.
 Usually, members of a cliché (group, club, barkada) plot
against a newcomer who disturbs us, because of
his/her better ideas and ways.
 We better not continue with our evil schemes.
 God will put us to shame.
 Everyone should be allowed to do his mission.
 As a church, we must do our mission.
 We cannot do our mission if we are busy
persecuting one another.

 The eucharist is the sacrament in which we
recognize that Jesus is the anointed one of God,
the one sent by God.
 When we receive the eucharist, we render to
God what is God’s.
 With the eucharist, God opens to us a lot of
possibilities in which he accomplishes his will for
us.
 The eucharist strengthens us in our mission.

Our Context of Sin and Grace
 Insecurity
 Plotters, barkada,
syndicate
 Conspiracy
 Controlling personality
 Bad influence
 Back stabbing
 Character assassination
 Bad intention
 Missionaries, local and
foreign
 Open to everyone
 Respecting God’s rights
 Recognizing talents of
each one
 Non appropriation of
place, time and positions
 Detachment from things

Suggested Songs
 Go Tell Everyone
 It’s Time to Prepare
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIandBaBMck

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