"Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." These words of Jesus invite us to reflect on a fundamental question: To whom do we belong, and what are we giving back to God through our lives?

The coin in the Gospel bears the image of Caesar, but we bear the image of God. Created in His likeness and loved by Him, we have received countless gifts: our life, talents, time, relationships, and opportunities; called to use them for God's glory and the good of others.

Giving to God what belongs to God means more than fulfilling religious obligations. It means offering Him our whole selves and allowing His love to shape our thoughts, choices, relationships, and service. If we bear God's image, our lives should reflect His presence and goodness to others.

This message resonates deeply as we celebrate World Mission Sunday under the theme: "One in Christ, United in Mission." Faith is never meant to remain a private possession. Having encountered Christ's love, we are sent to share it with others. And the mission of the Church belongs not only to priests, religious, and missionaries, but to every baptized Christian.

If we belong to God, then our mission is to make His love visible in the world. Today, our world continues to suffer from division, violence, poverty, injustice, and indifference. Many people are searching for hope, peace, dignity, and meaning. They need the Good News of Jesus Christ, offered not as a burden, but as an invitation to discover God's faithful love.

We proclaim this Good News whenever we choose forgiveness over resentment, dialogue over hostility, generosity over selfishness, and compassion over indifference. We become missionaries when – in the name of Jesus – we proclaim the Gospel, accompany those who suffer, care for the poor, welcome the stranger, protect creation, and work for the common good. Simple acts of kindness can become powerful expressions of the Gospel.

Mission is not always easy. Like the first disciples, we may feel discouraged, inadequate, or uncertain. Yet the mission ultimately belongs to God. World Mission Sunday also reminds us to pray for missionaries, support their work, and stand in solidarity with communities where the Gospel is still being proclaimed amid hardship and persecution. Their witness challenges us to renew our own missionary commitment wherever God has placed us.

Celebrating World Mission Sunday, the question is not only whether we believe in God, but whether our lives help others encounter Him. We bear His image; therefore, we are called to become living witnesses of His love.

To give back to God what belongs to God is to offer Him our whole life and allow Him to send us wherever His love is needed: “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. (Acts, 1:8)

We belong to God, and we are sent into the world to make His love known.

One in Christ, United in Mission.