Reading 1 Is 45:1, 4-6
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:
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.
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,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
R. (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Reading 2 1 Thes 1:1-5b
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly 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,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God,
how you were chosen.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
Gospel Mt 22:15-21
The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
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.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
“Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax.”
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”
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.”
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
The Loving Programmer has downloaded programming assistance for Cyrus, and has given him such dominant political power in that part of the world that he is able to defeat all who stand against him.
The Loving Programmer has programmed Cyrus to do His work. For Jacob’s sake, He is having Cyrus restore the Twelve Tribes to the land that He had them taken from for their greed and apostasy. He’s specifically called, and named, Cyrus as the deliverer of His people, even though Cyrus didn’t know about or believe in Him. He let Cyrus know that He is The Loving Programmer so that Cyrus would be His “evangelist”, letting the world know the awesome power that only The Loving Programmer has.
R. Give glory and honor to The Loving Programmer.
Sing Him a new song (as you understand more of His power), all the nations and peoples should understand that He can raise an unstoppable power (like Cyrus).
R. Give glory and honor to The Loving Programmer
And do so because He is great, and deserving of praise. He is awesome, and His Programming Power can erase or alter what He wants erased or altered.
The gods invented by people have no power, but He programmed and downloaded all there is.
R. Give Glory and honor to the Loving Programmer
Every people in every nation should praise The Loving Programmer. Everyone should give Him the obedience He deserves. Give (Him) gifts and come into His presence.
R. Give glory and honor to The Loving Programmer
Dress yourselves, inside and out, properly, worship Him. Fear Him, all the earth, for He can erase and punish who He wants. Tell the nations, The Loving Programmer is supreme, (yet) He governs people fairly.
R. Give glory and honor to The Loving Programmer.
We three are writing to you in The Loving Programmer and Jesus, (The Program who took perfect, obedient, human form and came among us) the Lord:
We ask Him to give you grace and peace. We thank The Loving Programmer for having called you to Him, and continually ask Him to provide Programming Assistance for you as we continually remember your works of faith, love, and for enduring persecution and temptation in the hope of The Program before The Loving Programmer Who created us all. We know how you were chosen, because it wasn’t just our preaching that brought you to The Kingdom, but also, the power of The Holy Wireless Connector.
Those whose institutions and cash flows plotted to entrap Jesus by His own words. Pharisees and local politicians send disciples to Him, after telling them what to say, which was: “Teacher, we know that you are full of truth and that you truthfully teach God’s way. (We know) that You don’t worry about the opinions of men, even if they’re rich and powerful. So, tell us what you think: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar, or not?”
Jesus knew they were out to get Him, and said so: “Why are you asking me that, you hypocrites? Show me the coin with which we pay the tax.”
They handed Him the Roman coin. He said, “Whose image is this, and whose words are on it?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.”
So, He said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to The Loving Programmer that which is His.”
(One can imagine the cleverest people His enemies could find, made to look foolish by His brilliant answer to a question they thought couldn’t be answered. No wonder they hated Him!)
