God declares in the first reading from Isaiah that He is God alone, and there is no other. Even Cyrus, mighty a king as he was in his day, in God's sight, is an instrument used to further His purposes for His people, as Cyrus initiated the efforts to bring the Jews back to their land, thereby ending the Babylonian exile.
When the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question about the legality of the tax to Caesar, Jesus rebuffs it by declaring that they should give Caesar what is owed him, while also remembering they should give to God what they owe Him.
Because God is the Almighty, the Creator of all and our Redeemer, we owe Him much for the much He has given us. He has worked gloriously in us, through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit, which brings us alive to proclaim who He is by our deeds, so that we thereby live out fully the great value that He gives us, as we bear His very image.
These readings hold special meaning for me because they were proclaimed at my Confirmation Mass 9 years ago, on Saturday, October 15, 2005. It was the day the Holy Spirit did a powerful work in me, so that I began to proclaim God anew as God alone.
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