29th Sunday of Year A

Isaiah 45:1,4-6
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5
Matthew 22:15-21

To what purpose has God chosen me for?

Last week, we began a three-part reflection on leading a fulfilling life. We concluded our reflection with these words of Jesus: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Mt 22:14) This week, let’s continue our reflection by contemplating on the question: For what purpose has God chosen us for? The truth is, many of us lead busy and task-oriented lives. There are projects to complete at work, kids to fetch from school, and a million tasks to do at home. It is not often, if at all, that we stop and think about our relationship with God; and importantly, ask ourselves: What is God asking of me in my life? Indeed, the answer to this question lies the key to leading a fulfilling life. Jesus said, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mt 12:50) This week, let us reflect on three aspects of how God has chosen us for His divine purpose.

Firstly, God calls everyone. Each of us are individually and carefully created by God; and no one life was created by God in vain. But the purpose to which God choose each of us can be as varied as we are as individuals, In the First Reading, God called Cyrus, the Persian king: “For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me.” (verse 4) Imagine, Cyrus – a pegan and non-believer – was called by God by name! God blessed Cyrus with military might, so that he might be victorious against the Babylonians: “I arm you, though you do not know me” (verse 5) Centuries before, God had similarly armed the Israelites and ensured their victory as Moses led them into the Holy Land. But despite God’s blessings, the Israelites did not live up to their calling and became unfaithful to God. We saw this through the ages of the judges (Judg 2:11-19), king Solomon (2 Kgs 11:4-8) and beyond. As a result, God lifted his protection over the people. They were conquered by the Babylonians, and many were taken into exile in Babylon. Through Cyrus, God was delivering the Israelites from the Babylonians. In contrast to the Israelites, even though Cyrus was a pegan who did not know God, he was faithful to God when he was called. Cyrus did not deny his calling on account of him being a pegan and non-believer. After his defeat of the Babylonians, living up to his calling, Cyrus facilitated the return of the exiled Israelites to their homeland: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him! Let him go up.” (2 Chr 36:23) Foretelling Cyrus’ obedience, we read in the First Reading how Cyrus was given the title “anointed” (verse 1) – a term that would later be used on Jesus Himself. In Cyrus, we see the conversion of an unbeliever into belief, by him doing what God has chosen him for. Indeed, just as we read in the Parable of Wedding Feast last week, where the king instructed his servants to “invite everyone you find” (Mt 22:9), God can and does choose unbelievers and new converts for great purposes.

Secondly, just as God choose us individually for his divine purposes, He also choose us collectively. Before St Paul brought Christianity into Europe, like the Cyrus and his Persian nation, Europeans were pegans. In the Second Reading, St Paul wrote to the converts in Thessalonica, who were among the earliest Christian communities in Europe: “For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you” (verse 4). From the early European Christian communities of Thessalonica, Philippi and Corinth, European Christianity was born. And it was from Europe that Christianity reached the far corner of the earth. Indeed, for most of us reading this reflection, we can trace the spiritual origin of our Christian faith to European Christianity, and onto the Christian communities of Thessalonica, Philippi and Corinth. Today, with Christianity in Europe having declined greatly from its former heights, who has God chosen to carry on the flame? Would this be me and my local church? And beyond evangelisation, for what other purposes has God chosen my family, my parish and the Church? Perhaps it is a social justice cause such as ministering to the poor and homeless? Perhaps it is in upholding righteousness in the face of injustice, such as speaking truth to the secular world? Perhaps it is teaching others on matters of faith – not just in words but also in deeds and actions – so that by our courage and example, others might be inspired?

Finally, in fulfilling our purpose, if we are truly living to God’s calling, the devil will put detractors in our way. There will be those who will try to discourage us or even harm our cause, including those from within the faith itself. Our hearts must be in the right place to stay the course. We read an example of this in the Gospel this week. In Biblical times, the Pharisees and Herodians were both faithful believers. But they were also arch enemies. The Pharisees were strict keepers of religious rules, while the Herodians were Jews who supported the Roman rulers. This made them natural enemies, as Pharisees considered the Herodians traitors of the people. But with their shared hatred of Jesus, in the Gospel this week, we read how the Pharisees and Herodians formed an unholy alliance to trap Jesus (verse 15-16). They came to Jesus and asked Him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” (verse 17) If Jesus answered “no”, He would run afoul of the Herodians and the Roman rulers. On the other hand, if Jesus said “yes”, He would be deemed a traitor by his people. Cleverly, Jesus avoided the trap by asking for a Roman coin, with an image of the Roman’s emperor engraved on it. Jesus then commanded the people, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (verse 21) Seeing through their evil intention, Jesus used the Roman coin to point out to His plotters this: Now that you have put your petty infighting among you aside, it is what is in your hearts that matters. This is also a message for us. Let us ask ourselves: What is in my heart? On the matter of wealth and money, have I given “to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s”?

Let us conclude our reflection this week by contemplating on a few questions: For what purpose has God chosen me and my community? While many of us lead busy work and family life, do we still make time for God, like we do with our other pursuits outside work and family? Have I been fulfilling the purpose God has chosen me for? Or have I even stopped and think about my purpose in life? How have I responded to God? What does my response tell me about the disposition of my heart? These are the questions God asks us through this week’s Scripture. Let us invite the Holy Spirit in as we reflect. Amen.