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

 

 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 

 

In our current readings, it is Holy Week, and Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He has made His Triumphal Entry; He has cleansed the temple; He has been questioned by the religious leaders as to His authority to do so.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:  "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.  My study Bible explains that this question on taxation is a design to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer will turn the people against Him, but a "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer defeats this effort to entrap Him, and shows that the faithful can render the state its due, while serving God (Romans 13:1-7; contrast with Acts 4:19; 5:29).  As the coin bears the image of the emperor, and is properly paid to him, my study Bible notes, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict comes when the state demands that which is in opposition to God.   So, the division of things that are Caesar's and things that are God's doesn't mean we divide life into two compartments, the secular and the sacred.  Instead, we know God is the Lord over all of life, including our secular lives.  But we fulfill the requirements of government that don't conflict with that first, primary responsibility to the One who holds all of life.  To pay taxes and other civil duties are not detrimental to holiness.  

How does life get divided between the sacred and the secular?  Perhaps it is wise, in pondering this question, to consider the parable Jesus taught in yesterday's reading (see above).  When we consider the question of the wedding garment, required for attendance and participation at the wedding of Christ the Bridegroom, and His Bride, the Church, we are left with an understanding that all of our lives -- whatever we participate in life -- contributes to that wedding garment, or it does not.  If we understand the wedding garment as the condition in which our soul meets the occasion of the wedding feast and the judgment that accompanies it, then we see life as weaving that garment, or leaving us without it.  The garment, according to the parable, is provided by the King.  That is, God has given us all we need to inhabit that garment, to live to its beauty and image, or not.  So secular life and sacred life are all of a piece, because -- as my study Bible puts it -- all belongs to God.  This is the rock and foundation of life.  God "weaves" opportunities for the creation of that wedding garment into all the parts of our lives, private, public, sacred, and secular.  Each moment may be an occasion for prayerful living, a life filled with the presence of God, regardless of what we're offered in our experiences.  Just as Christ is here faced with a test designed to entrap Him, He takes His time and uses His tremendous capacity for words and teaching to assert His own response.  He will not simply follow where He is led by these men who are trying to entrap Him and destroy His ministry and mission.  He asserts the truth of God.  So Christ forms for us an example of what it means to cling to truth regardless of circumstances and the temptations and traps life might present to us.  Let us endeavor to remain grounded in that truth, as He sets the example, so that wherever we find ourselves, we stand on that rock -- we weave the wedding garment of the soul we want to present to God.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 answered and spoke to the religious leaders in the Jerusalem Temple again by parables and said:  "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.  My study Bible comments on today's passage that the Pharisees' question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer will turn the people against Him, but  "no" answer would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  His answer is a defeat of their cunning; it shows also that a believer can render to the state its due while also serving God.  The coin Jesus displays in His answer bears the image of the emperor, and is properly paid to him -- but so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  My study Bible makes clear that the things that are Caesar's and the things that are God's do not imply the division of a faithful person's life into the secular and the sacred.  Instead, God is Lord over all of life, which includes the secular.  We fulfill governmental requirements that don't conflict with our first responsibility to God (Romans 13:1-7; contrast Acts 4:19, 5:29).  Paying taxes and other civil duties are not detrimental to holiness. 

 

 The text makes clear that all belongs to God; everything in the world, which is created by God, is basically good, even "very good" (Genesis 1:31).  We pay taxes to our governments in order to run institutions which hopefully preserve the good, establish and organize community for preservation and protection, and hopefully for the welfare of the community and society.  It is ironic to consider that Jesus knows very well what is to come in Jerusalem, how He will die crucified by the Romans (even if it is at the instigation and plotting of the religious leaders who will also stir up the people).  But in Jesus' acceptance of the reality of "the things that are Caesar's" seems to be the acceptance of the necessity for human institutions, that they are not in and of themselves contrary to God, but that what belongs to God is our souls -- that first and foremost our lives belong to God.  Therefore, to be a part of God's creation is to seek God's way for our choices, the ways in which we use and organize the world, to be loyal first to God.  For the early Church, martyrdom would come for the espousal of this truth regarding the freedom of the soul to love and worship God before all else.  And continuing today there are still Christian martyrs, people who are targeted for death simply because they claim that freedom to worship God as followers of Jesus Christ.  The first organized genocide that set the pattern for what was to come later in the twentieth century took place against the Christians of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.  Many believers were martyred under political systems that penalized religion.  Today, violent religion-based extremists continue to attack with violence and murder Christian believers in organized ways in various parts of the world, particularly in Africa and across parts of the Middle East, where Christianity flourished in its early centuries.  Jesus set the pattern for faithful witness even through persecution, and today we remain as His followers.  But Christ's acceptance of the need for government to organize the world is important for us to understand in the context of our faith and our hearts; it shows clearly that our faith is to be lived even through persecution, and even where that persecution is not openly and violently present, we are aware that we live in a world where our faith teaches us not that everything is perfect, but that we are to endure -- and to endure means to endure in His commands, and awaiting His return, in living our faith.  In what will follow in the Gospel, Jesus will leave the disciples with that commend to endure, to follow His commands as we await His return.  In John's Gospel, He will leave one final, new command, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34).  Let us keep in mind that we live in a world that always needs governing, will always have civil authorities, and taxes to pay.   As we are part of a broader worldly community, we still need to "render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's."  But our focus is on the one good part we know we must fulfill even as we live in this world, and therefore we continue to give "to God the things that are God's."

 

 

 

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.