Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

Peter Paul Rubens, The Tribute Money, ca. 1612.  Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco - Legion of Honor

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

- Matthew 22:15-22

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke another parable to the chief priests and elders who questioned Him regarding His authority (after the cleansing of the temple):  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding." '  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.  In the questions so far brought to bear upon Jesus by the leaders in the temple, we can see how strong a role the opinion of the public plays.  Jesus subtly turned the tables on His questioners when He asked them about John the Baptist, as John was revered by the people as holy man and prophet, and so the leadership was afraid to say anything against the Baptist (see Tuesday's reading).  In Wednesday's reading, we were told that the leaders wanted to seize Jesus right away, but they feared the crowds, who believe that Jesus is a prophet.  Into this context, and the backdrop of the highly favorable opinion of the crowd to Jesus, comes this question which is posed as a kind of test.  It's, in fact, designed as a trap for Jesus.  If He answers "yes," it would turn the Jewish people against Him, who resent the taxes they're forced to pay to the Romans (and the Jewish tax collectors who take those taxes).  If Jesus gives a "no" answer, it would bring on charges of treason by the Roman state.  But, my study bible says, Jesus defeats their plan and shows that a believer is capable of rendering the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin bears the image of the Roman emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God, my study bible explains.  Conflict arises when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  In another note, my study bible adds that the distinction between things that are Caesar's and things that are God's doesn't imply that there is a division of one's life into the secular and the sacred.  Instead, we must understand that God is Lord over all of life, even including the secular.  We fulfill governmental requirements that don't conflict with our first responsibility to God (contrast the passage in Romans cited above with Acts 4:19, 5:29).  To pay taxes and uphold similar civil duties are not detrimental to personal holiness.

When do civil or other duties contradict with our belonging to God?  In much of the Gospels, we read about "the name of Jesus," or things done "in His name."  See, for example, John 14:14, in which Jesus teaches the disciples, "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."   This understanding of the name of Christ, or when we use the sign of the Cross, saying, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" comes precisely from the time when the image and name of the emperor were essential to the understanding of this question in today's reading.  To do something "in the name" of the emperor or ruler or monarch was to be under his (or her) house, a part of personal identity.  Moreover, anything that denoted the presence of the emperor -- such as an image on a coin -- denoted this name and thereby this authority.   So another question here that possibly cuts to the heart of the matter, and one which would be so crucial to the earliest Christians who might face martyrdom over such a question, is just how far and how deep each identity goes.  If we are, in fact, part of the "house" of Caesar because we are Roman citizens, and yet we are also praying and seeking to live our lives "in the name" of Jesus Christ, where does the conflict come in?  The same could be true of family duties, in which our family name also reveals identity as part of a "house."  Do parents have absolute rights over the souls or their children?  Do brothers and sisters, or husbands and wives?  In such a context, we also have answers from Jesus as well, found elsewhere in the Gospels.  Jesus emphasizes the true permanent monogamous state of holy matrimony, but also makes note for us that such bonds can be broken by sin, and that there are conditions under which divorce is permissible (see 5:32, 19:9), conditions which were expanded in the early Church.  While family or state might demand ultimate authority over identity and loyalty, in truth there is only one authority which is ultimate, and that is the author of our very lives and souls -- the One who bestows and creates all things to begin with.  This is precisely the question which early Christians struggled with in determining a course of action that might result in martyrdom.  Many early saints were soldiers, for example, and those who fought valiantly.  Martyrdom, however, came when they had to choose to accept honors given for their valor, and whether or not that constituted accepting religious loyalty to another god.  These are the saints known as military saints, who refused to participate in Imperial cult rituals although they served as loyal soldiers, such as St. George.  These questions remain important to us today, but also in the sense of loyalty to group, clan, political party, or any other affiliation we might have.  We have to decide to whom we ultimately truly belong, and where our ultimate loyalty and identity are sourced.  These are not simple questions, as St. Paul discusses at length in the Epistle to the Romans.  He clearly indicates an important and good place for ruling authorities, and for the duty of paying taxes (Romans 13:1-7).  But he also notes that while disputes among Christians are possible, they are not worthwhile.  They may do damage to the community, while it is at the same time acceptable for each to follow conscience -- even if that means different choices for different people.  Whatever choices we make according to faith or conscience, each must do according to the Lord and seek to avoid scandalizing others in the faith so as to weaken the community (Romans 14).  Therefore we are to understand that in the fullness of life, all must "live or die" to the Lord.  Therefore what we seek is a life lived through the examples of both John the Baptist and of Jesus, "for John came neither eating nor drinking" and Jesus "the Son of Man came eating and drinking."  While both were condemned by the religious leaders, Jesus said that wisdom is justified by all her children.  (See Matthew 11:1-19.)   In all things, we must seek to live prayerful lives, and be accompanied by prayer through all we do and choose.   St. Paul advises us, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).   In today's reading Jesus clearly gives us the understanding that to pay a tax is not a sin so long as we understand our true and ultimate loyalty to God.  In the Church we are given ways to shore up that loyalty, to make good decisions, and help to do so through the tools we're offered, the saints which surround us, our brothers and sisters, and especially the prayer that connects us all in the Body of Christ.  Let us not forget the Holy Trinity dwells in each one (John 14:15-21), and keep that prayerful communication strong and continual so that we are rooted in the right relations in which we belong, and through which we take meaning and identity.   Our ultimate solution to each question lies in this loyalty, and not in the abstractions of philosophies and debates, for it is here where beauty, truth, and goodness dwell.  Let us keep our connection strong to the place where the Source of love calls us.  This is the fullness through which we find the truly rooted answer to every question, and no real contradiction.

The Beatitudes

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

- Matthew 5:1-10

On Saturday, we read of Jesus choosing His first apostles. As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw the brothers Andrew and Simon (Peter), casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. He told them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They followed Him. He found two other brothers, John and James Zebedee, mending their nets with their father. He called the brothers as well, and they left their nets and their father and followed Him. The Gospel then sums up His ministry: Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. This sets the stage for the Sermon on the Mount, which we begin in today's reading.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes, a series of declarative sentences setting out what it is to live this life of discipleship in the Kingdom. My study bible calls them "the joys of true discipleship, the blessed way of life." It adds, "The people of God await the rewards of the promises Jesus makes." If we look carefully, we can see the hints of the One for whom the Way must be made straight, the valleys brought up and mountains leveled. We have the words of the One who lifts up the lowly, and fills the hungry with good things. Jesus is seated; this is the traditional position of a rabbi when teaching. My study bible notes, "To understand this sermon is to recognize this Rabbi is the one true Teacher of Israel." In this first teaching in the Sermon, it explains, "In Hebrew, 'poor' means both (1) the materially poor and (2) the faithful among God's people. The poor in spirit, the humble and lowly, have the heart of the poor and their total dependence upon God. These are truly the 'spiritually rich.'" "Blessed," it notes, "in this context indicates heavenly, spiritual blessedness rather than earthly happiness or prosperity." So, for those who rely on God as their true source of security and wealth, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It is this kingdom to which they belong, of which they are citizens and members. Let us consider all that it means to be a part of something, the rights and laws and responsibilities that go with citizenship, what it is to be governed by a good leader, the grace of this kingdom. It sets us at once in a spiritual place, with an orientation toward the spiritual reality of our lives.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." The passage from Isaiah 40, quoted by John the Baptist, which declares "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert, a highway for our God," begins with these famous words: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Christ will send us a Comforter; He will declare to His disciples that He will not leave them comfortless. Here, the promise is made to all disciples of this kingdom, that no matter what our losses, our sadness and sorrow and grief, even the things we leave behind in repentance, we will be comforted, we will find comfort from our king. Our heavenly blessings will include this comfort. My study bible points out that this type of holy sorrow, a sadness over both sins and suffering of mankind, is distinguished from ungodly sorrow, a sadness which leads to despair.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Meekness or gentleness is contrasted with the violent, manipulative or controlling in the sense of worldly power. It is, says my study bible, "an attitude of being content with both honor and dishonor. . . . an imitation of Christ who said, 'Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.'. . . Meekness is not passive gentleness, but strength under control." In those who wait on God, are God-directed, lies the inheritance of an eternal kingdom: the rightful promise of the age to come.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Righteousness, in the Greek as well as the Hebrew, is akin to justice or justness. My study bible says it may also be translated into "justification." If we hunger and thirst for a righteous life, one in which we are capable of living with justice and righteousness, then we shall be filled in this kingdom.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." In Matthew's Gospel, this is the first of the many reciprocal teachings of Jesus. There is a kind of mutual reality here, that also depends upon our disposition. My study bible says, "Mercy is love set in motion, love expressed in action. God's lovingkindness, His mercy in taking our sufferings upon Himself in order to grant us His Kingdom, sets us free from captivity to the evil one. In view of God's lovingkindness we in turn are to be merciful to all others." Perhaps, in some sense, our own disposition of mercy allows us to receive, to perceive and understand, the mercy of the kingdom and its King.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Here is the great promise. What is it to be "pure in heart?" We are not duplicitous, we don't have two different goals but one. When we "hunger and thirst for righteousness," we are in some sense pure in heart -- with one aim. To be pure in heart is also, as my study bible puts it, "to be unmixed with anything else." That is, a heart that is true, as a person the same on the inside as the out. We can compare this to the "pearl of great price" - as a rare natural pearl, the same through and through. I find that in the ongoing practice of worship and faith, this process of "purification" takes its time in me, pointing out my own conflicts, flaws, things that I need to repent and change or turn away from, leave behind. This is done with and through action of the Holy Spirit, a dynamic living process of discipleship. This promise, it seems to me, is an eternal one. My study bible says, "Then the heart -- holding fast to the new life in Christ and contemplating the glory of God -- shall see God through communion with His Son."

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." It's interesting to consider each of these Beatitudes in the context of relatedness and relationship -- to God first and to one another. As the poor in spirit we rely on God, first. As those who mourn, we leave behind the things God asks us to "lose" for citizenship in this kingdom. As the meek, we rely on God's wisdom and grace for our lives. As those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, we ask to be filled with God's justice, discernment, guidance for our lives. As merciful, we seek to be like God. As pure in heart we seek a faithfulness that is true to God and to others. As peacemakers, we shall be called sons of God! In this peace is reconciliation, through the Reconciler, the Prince of Peace. My study bible says, "The Holy Spirit gives peace, the sign of God's presence, to those who meditate on Christ and imitate Him. Peace brings communion with God and concord with all creation, the sign of our sanctity. Thus, peacemakers share God's peace with those around them, participating in the work of God's Son and becoming, by God's grace, sons of God themselves." This is a peace born of righteousness and mercy and faith, another promise!

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Finally, in today's excerpt of the Sermon, in the Beatitudes, we have a summing up of what it is to be like Christ in the world. We accept persecution for righteousness' sake. This is not a promise of a perfect worldly or material life, but rather with all our blessings may come persecution. We belong to another kingdom, not a worldly one, and may be at odds with the worldly kingdom. This may be a part of our loss and mourning too. But we are blessed in that persecution. Christ makes it clear here that righteousness may not always lead to a worldly sort of peace, but even persecution for the sake of that righteousness. Inherent in this statement is the tremendous value of being a part of that kingdom. The statement makes clear that it is persecution for righteousness' sake -- it is righteousness that comes before all things.

Taking all of these statements together, we have a picture of discipleship that is not necessarily easy. It is a road we walk day by day and step by step. The promises are eternal, the rewards extraordinary. The power of this kingdom is in our faith, in how we choose to live our lives, the power with which we understand that righteousness is worth even the price of persecution. The crown of citizenship in this kingdom is one of deep inner peace, a reconciliation with God, a joy in purpose that can't be overestimated, a conviction in the heart of where our loyalty lies. Can we grasp the peace that passes understanding, the peace and joy He offers?