As we reflect in today’s Gospel on how the Pharisees tried
to entrap in speech, we ask the simple question: Who in their right mind starts a debate with
Jesus and expects to win? It isn’t going
to work. On second thought, maybe I try
to debate with Jesus when I seek to adjust the demands of discipleship to suit
my own way of life. Can anyone honestly say we do not debate with Jesus a bit
when it comes to the Gospel demand to love even our enemy, to be willing to
forgive seventy times seven, and when it comes to the words of Jesus: “Go, sell what you and give to the poor, and
then come and follow me.”
The Pharisees’
henchmen try to trap Jesus by entering that dangerous territory of mixing
politics and religion and so they asked what they thought was a “gotcha” tax question:
“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Answering this question usually is a no-win
situation. For example, do you know any
candidate for political office this November whose campaign message is to raise
taxes?
Jesus responds by asking them to show Him the coin used to
pay the census tax. Showing him the
coin, Jesus then asked: “Whose image is
this and whose inscription.” They responded: “Caesar’s.”
Jesus then narrows his response to the need to pay the census tax. “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.”
Then note carefully the second half of Jesus’ response: “And to God what belongs to God.” There is one crucial question for us to
reflect upon that is not asked in the Gospel conversation. If Caesar’s image is on the coin, where do we
find God’s image? For we are to give to
God that which bears the image of God.
What do I owe to God?
We will find God’s image in all of creation, on each human
person and each human work. All of us are
made in the image and likeness of God.
Speaking very personally, this past Thursday I celebrated
the funeral liturgy for my sister Sue who was just 13 months older than
myself. My sister Sue courageously and
lovingly lived with the illness of MS for 45 years. Clearly she was made in the image and
likeness of God, and the cross of her life – MS – was a very visible dimension
of her discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For me, clearly the image of God was imprinted in who she was.
The fact is there are many Sue’s in the world – people
living with illness and struggles and deprived of many of life’s blessings we
take for granted. To the question, to
what do I owe to God and to what do you owe to God. My sister and anyone else who lives with some
limitation bears the image of God’s love.
In the divine economy, money is not the most important currency. The currency God expects of us is love and
the sharing of our talents with all who bear the image of God in their hearts.
Our parish theme for
the next few weeks is to rediscover our Catholic Faith. A key part of this rediscovery is to be
mindful of the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching. This is rooted in our deep belief that every
single human being on planet earth is made in the image and likeness of
God. We are to have a profound reverence
for the dignity of all human life – life in the womb of a mother-to-be and life
after birth in all its stages.
A key role for us as Catholics in the midst of a chaotic and
consumer-driven society is always to ask the question: How are the poorest and most vulnerable among
us being treated? If, in good
conscience, we cannot say that our society is doing all it can to feed the
hungry and provide shelter to the homeless, then we have work to do! I think it’s safe to say, we have a lot of
work to do. Our Holy Father, Pope
Francis, is continually challenging us to be mindful of the poor.
Moreover, all of God’s creation bears the image of God. Our care for our environment, our
stewardship of the earth is giving back to God what belongs to God.
Even though none of us enjoy paying taxes, in the big
picture, giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s is not the demanding component of
today’s Gospel.
Where we are challenged is:
Giving to God what is God’s.
You may ask then:
Well what then doesn’t belong to God?
This is such a good question.
There is no aspect of our lives that God is not present. There is no aspect of our life that God is
not present, and there is no dimension of our life that does not belong to God.
It is important to note that the response of Jesus: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to
God what belongs to God” can be taken out of context and be used to justify a
“two-kingdom” theology, which divides life into two autonomous realms, the
secular and religious. While the
separation of Church and State can be a very useful principle in our Bill of
Rights as Americans, it is essential that we seek to be very aware of the
spiritual dimension of all of life. The
truth of our lives is that there is no dimension of our lives in which God is
not present. This is not to say we are
always aware of God’s presence, but may we seek to be more and more aware of
the God dimension of all of life.
The image of God is found in all of life and in all of
creation. If we are to repay to God what
belongs to God, we need to be mindful of the pastoral care and love we provide
for each other in our parish community. We
are not a group of isolated individuals who come to worship on Sunday. We are called to be a community of faith who
love and support one another. We are all
made in the image of God.
But, as beautiful as this is, it is not enough. The social outreach dimension of our parish
life demands that we repay to God our commitment to God’s poor, to God’s anawim
anywhere and everywhere.
As stated in our Catechism:
God created everything for humanity, but humanity in turn was created to
serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him. To the question what do I own God, is a one
hour commitment on Sundays enough? The
Sunday Eucharist is essential but it is only the beginning of what we owe back
to God. As long as the Lord loves and
forgives and heals us from day to day, from moment to moment, we are to give
back to God by loving and honoring all those who bear the image of God in their
hearts, and by the way we reverence and serve all of creation that is God’s
precious gift to us.
In what area of your life is Jesus not yet Lord?
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