RBWords

     In an election year, this famous comment of Jesus' carries an extra punch!  Every crowd at a political rally has someone "sent to ensnare [a candidate] in his/her speech!"  "Trick questions" are the order of the day!  In Jesus' case, however, the intent of the questioners is lethal!  They want Jesus to be either killed by the Romans or lynched by the crowd!  Of course, Jesus is more than equal to the question and leaves the would-be "trappers" sputtering, but not without some valuable lessons.

     To begin with, Jesus cuts through the external flattery (true on its face) to get to the hypocrisy of the questioners.  Next, he puts the Pharisees in the group on the spot by asking for a Roman coin.  For the pious Pharisees, Roman money was unclean because it had the image of the civil "god", Caesar, on it, and because it was routinely handled by people they considered to be "unclean."  In this instance, probably one of the Herodians may have had one!  They would be less fastidious than Pharisees!  Jesus then asks his own "trick" question.  An object belongs to the person whose "image" or "brand" it bears.  Since the coin has Caesar's image, it belongs to Caesar.  However [and this is the wonderful point], the image that we humans bear is the image and likeness of God.  So, the real "master" in this comment is God!  In short, Jesus takes what we would refer to as "the high road."

     In this election year, it is important to realize that some values transcend any political process or campaign.  No trick question can eliminate those values even if such a question can ruin a candidate simply because popular media will seize on it like hungry sharks.  The coin with Caesar's image may fuel the election campaign, but the real "campaign" is to preserve the dignity of all life that bears the image of God.  AMEN