World Mission Sunday 普世传教节
What does Christian mission require of the disciple? How do we proclaim Christ with courage and humility? How can the spirit of World Mission Sunday enter into our daily life? Fr. Joseph reflects on these questions through this Sunday's Scriptures, included below in Chinese and then in English:
Scripture Reflection in Chinese
常年期第二十九主日——普世传教节
今天，我们庆祝常年期第二十九主日，同时也庆祝普世传教节。1926年，教宗庇护十一世应传信善会的请求，设立这个节日，邀请全球信友共同承担传播福音的责任。每年十月倒数第二个主日，各地教会借着祈祷、奉献和实际支持，彼此扶持，让福音跨越地域与文化，走进人群。
今天的福音从一场精心安排的试探展开。法利塞人的门徒与黑落德党人问耶稣：“纳税给凯撒，可以不可以？”（玛22:17）这个问题暗藏圈套：赞成纳税，容易被指迎合统治者；反对纳税，又可能招致政治控告。他们企图让耶稣在两难之间失言。耶稣的回答却触及权力的根本界限：凯撒究竟可以向人要求什么？
耶稣让他们拿出一枚税币，问：“这是谁的肖像和名号？”（玛22:20）他们回答“凯撒的”。耶稣便说：“那么，凯撒的就该归还凯撒；天主的就该归还天主。”（玛22:21）这句话承认人在公共生活中应尽的责任，也指出一切人间权力都有限度。凯撒可以征收税赋，却无权索取只属于天主的敬拜与终极忠诚。国家与制度各有其职分；任何权力一旦把自己置于至高的位置，就越过了界限。信仰由此赋予人承担社会责任的依据，也赋予人凭良心分辨、拒绝不义的勇气。
“天主的就该归还天主”，又把我们的目光从钱币转向人。钱币上刻着凯撒的肖像；人按天主的肖像受造（参创1:27）。在创造的光照下，我们便能进一步领会耶稣这句话的分量：人的整个生命都属于天主。这份归属奠定了人的尊严，也为人对他人的支配划出界限。人的价值无须等待社会承认，也不取决于财富、能力、国籍和地位。即使一个人失去工作、健康、自由，甚至遭到众人遗弃，他仍然是天主所创造、所爱的人。任何人、任何权力，都无权把他当作可以任意利用或舍弃的工具。
这也指出了传教的方向。教会宣讲耶稣基督，使人认识那位创造人、爱人，并在基督内施行救恩的天主，也发现自己被爱的身份与生命的召叫。因此，传教的方式必须与福音相称：尊重人的自由，认真倾听人的疑问，清楚表达信仰，以可信的言行邀请人回应天主。每一个与我们相遇的人，都已经带着天主的肖像。羞辱、操控或利用他人的困境，都会损害我们所传的福音。向人宣讲天主，要求我们认真对待眼前的人。
第一篇读经拓宽了我们的眼光。天主对居鲁士说：“我指名召叫了你……而你却不认识我。”（依45:4）这位波斯君王尚未认识以色列的天主，却已被纳入天主眷顾祂子民的计划。天主的行动超越我们熟悉的边界，祂的恩宠先于我们的脚步。传教因此需要勇气，也需要谦逊。在陌生的文化与不同的生命经验中，我们应当留意那些维护生命、追求真理、实践公义的努力，珍惜人心中对美善的渴望。相信圣神先于我们工作，使我们能够怀着敬意走近他人，也坦诚分享在基督内领受的信仰。
第二篇读经则使这份使命有了具体的形态。保禄记念信友“因信德所做的一切，因爱德所受的劳苦，因盼望我们的主耶稣基督所有的坚忍”（得前1:3）。信德进入行动，爱德承担代价，望德使人在艰难中持守。福音已经触及这些人的选择，使他们肯付出，并有力量坚持。今天，我们怎样对待无力回报的人，怎样在利益面前守住诚实，怎样陪伴陷于困境的人，同样关系到所传的信仰是否可信。福音借着言语被听见，也借着生活被看见；圣神赐下力量，使它在人心中扎根、结果（参得前1:5）。
普世传教节由此走进每个人的日常。在家庭中，认真听受伤的人说话；在工作中，拒绝以他人的尊严换取自己的利益；在公共讨论中，核实事实，克制羞辱，尊重与自己意见不同的人。这些选择使信仰有了可见的形态。当有人询问我们为何这样生活，我们也应当能够清楚回答：我们相信耶稣基督，相信天主爱人，并召叫我们以同样的爱对待他人。行动使宣讲可信，宣讲让人认识这份爱的泉源。
凯撒的肖像，使人认出钱币的归属；天主的肖像，使我们认出每个人都属于祂。把属于天主的归还天主，就是以整个生命回应祂，并按祂所赋予的尊严对待每一个人。教会宣讲在基督内亲近人类的天主，也有责任让人从我们的言行中感受到祂的亲近：让被轻视的人得到尊重，让被遗弃的人得到陪伴，让寻找真理的人得到诚恳的对待。传教就在这样的相遇中展开：我们向人讲述基督，也让人从我们的生活中认出基督。
Scripture Reflection in English
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time—World Mission Sunday
Today we celebrate the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time and World Mission Sunday. In 1926, Pope Pius XI established this observance at the request of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, inviting Catholics worldwide to share responsibility for spreading the Gospel. Each year, on the next-to-last Sunday of October, local churches support one another through prayer, offerings, and practical assistance, helping the Gospel cross geographical and cultural boundaries and reach people in their daily lives.
Today’s Gospel opens with a carefully arranged trap. The disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians ask Jesus, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” (Mt 22:17). The question conceals a dilemma: supporting the tax could expose him to accusations of accommodating the ruler; opposing it could lead to political charges. They intend to catch Jesus in his words. His answer, however, addresses the fundamental limits of authority: What, ultimately, can Caesar demand of a human being?
Jesus asks them to produce the coin used for the tax. “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” he asks (Mt 22:20). They answer, “Caesar’s.” Jesus then says, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt 22:21). These words acknowledge our responsibilities in public life while establishing that every human authority has limits. Caesar may collect taxes, but he has no right to demand the worship and ultimate allegiance that belong to God alone. States and institutions have their proper responsibilities; any authority that claims supremacy over everything exceeds its limits. Faith thus gives us grounds for fulfilling our responsibilities to society, as well as the courage to discern in conscience and resist injustice.
“To God what belongs to God” also turns our attention from the coin to the human person. The coin bears Caesar’s image; human beings are created in the image of God (see Gn 1:27). In the light of creation, we can appreciate more fully the significance of Jesus’ words: the whole of human life belongs to God. This belonging establishes human dignity and sets limits to one person’s power over another. Our worth does not await society’s recognition or depend on wealth, ability, nationality, or status. Even someone who loses employment, health, or freedom, or is abandoned by everyone, remains a person created and loved by God. No individual or authority has the right to treat that person as a tool to be used or discarded at will.
This also points to the direction of Christian mission. The Church proclaims Jesus Christ so that people may know the God who creates them, loves them, and brings salvation in Christ, and discover their own identity as beloved persons and the calling of their lives. The way we carry out this mission must therefore accord with the Gospel: respecting human freedom, listening carefully to people’s questions, expressing our faith clearly, and inviting a response to God through credible words and actions. Every person we encounter already bears God’s image. Humiliation, manipulation, and the exploitation of another’s hardship damage the Gospel we proclaim. Proclaiming God requires us to take seriously the person before us.
The first reading widens our perspective further. God tells Cyrus, “I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not” (Is 45:4). This Persian king did not yet know the God of Israel, yet he had already been drawn into God’s care for his people. God’s activity reaches beyond familiar boundaries, and his grace precedes our steps. Mission therefore requires courage and humility. Within unfamiliar cultures and different human experiences, we should recognize efforts to protect life, seek truth, and practise justice, and cherish the human longing for goodness. Believing that the Holy Spirit is already at work before we arrive enables us to approach others respectfully and share openly the faith we have received in Christ.
The second reading gives this mission a concrete form. Paul remembers the believers’ “work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 1:3). Faith becomes action, love accepts a cost, and hope sustains perseverance through difficulty. The Gospel has touched their choices, making them willing to give of themselves and strengthening them to persevere. Today, how we treat those who cannot repay us, preserve honesty when personal advantage is at stake, and accompany people in distress likewise affects the credibility of the faith we proclaim. The Gospel is heard through words and seen through lives; the Holy Spirit gives it power to take root and bear fruit in human hearts (see 1 Thes 1:5).
World Mission Sunday thus enters everyone’s daily life. Within a family, it means listening attentively to someone who has been hurt. At work, it means refusing to secure personal gain at the expense of another’s dignity. In public discussion, it means checking facts, refraining from humiliation, and respecting people whose opinions differ from our own. These choices give faith a visible form. When someone asks why we live this way, we should also be able to answer clearly: we believe in Jesus Christ, in God’s love for humanity, and in his call to treat others with that same love. Our actions make our proclamation credible; our proclamation reveals the source of this love.
Caesar’s image identifies the coin as his; God’s image reveals that every person belongs to him. Giving to God what belongs to God means responding to him with our whole lives and treating every person according to their God-given dignity. The Church proclaims the God who draws near to humanity in Christ. We also have a responsibility to let people experience his closeness through our words and actions: offering respect to those who are disregarded, companionship to those who are abandoned, and an honest response to those seeking truth. Mission unfolds in such encounters: we speak to people about Christ and enable them to recognize him in our lives.
Fr. (Joseph) Guozhang Ruan was born and ordained in China. After serving in parish ministry in the Diocese of Mindong, Fujian, he pursued advanced studies in moral theology in Rome, earning a doctorate from the Pontifical Lateran University. Since coming to the United States in 2004, he has served in several parishes in the Archdiocese of New York. He is currently the Director of the Chinese Apostolate for the Archdiocese of New York and Parochial Vicar of Holy Rosary Church on Staten Island. His ministry focuses on serving Chinese Catholics, promoting evangelization, and fostering greater understanding between the Church in China and the universal Church.
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