Before Mass

Five minutes now, so there's something to talk about on the ride home.

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A · Matthew 22:15-21

Repay to Caesar

For Sunday, October 18, 2026

The Pharisees set a trap to trip up Jesus in taking sides on politics and taxes. They send their students to Him with a compliment and a question. Teacher, we know you are truthful and teach the way of God, and that you do not care about anyone's opinion. So tell us: is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? There is no safe answer. Say yes, and the crowd hears a man siding with Rome. Say no, and Rome has a reason to arrest Him. They brought Herod's people along to make sure somebody official was listening.

Jesus calls them hypocrites and turns the tables, elevating the focus of the question to the highest authority. He asks for the coin that pays the tax. They hand Him one. He asks whose image is on it, and whose inscription. Caesar's, they say. Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. They walk away amazed. The trap closed on the people who set it.

The Pharisees led with their frame of taxes and politics, and people of the world have been doing the same for thousands of years. The kids may hear something simpler. Jesus does not say Caesar gets nothing. He puts things in order. We were called, assembled as a Church through faith and Baptism, to respond to God's call to live out the mission of spreading the Good News. That comes first.

Five minutes at the table

  • In what order do you think about who you are? Family member, American, parishioner, Catholic, student, athlete, political party?
  • Where does your relationship with God sit in that order? What is the first commandment?
  • How would you describe who I am?

Class discussion topics

Oct 14 — Connect Chapter 3, The Mission of the Church.

“What is the Church and what do you bring to it?”

The lesson is the Church itself: what it is and what it is for. The word church means called together. Paul calls the Church the Body of Christ, something far bigger than ourselves. Each of us has an essential part, and the body needs every part to carry out its mission.

The kids write in their journals about groups they are a part of, a team, a student group, a friend group: what do you bring to the groups you belong to? Then a second one: think of members of the Church, maybe your parents, family, or your sponsor. What groups do they belong to? If you asked them, how might they answer? Then the turn: Each of you is the Church, and it exists because you are in it.

Kids this age are searching to find their place in the Church. Their gifts and talents are essential to it. Their Gifts and Talents Service Project is where each of them brings something to it, and it helps them feel good about being a part of it.

Sunday's Gospel closes it. The coin carries Caesar's image, so it goes back to Caesar. Each of the kids carries God's image, so they belong to God. The people who belong to God, called together, are the Church. The journal line for the week ends there: I am the Church.

For the ride home: ask your child, “How would you describe who I am?” They have already thought about it in class. The answer tells you who you are to your kid. Whenever I ask mine, it helps me reflect.