Word to the Wise
Sunday, October 22, 2023 - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[Isa 45:1, 4-6; 1 Thess 1:1-5b; Matt 22:15-21]"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." [Matthew]
The words above are probably among the most quoted from the Bible, especially with the older English: "Render unto Caesar...." But the quotation is often used "flexibly" because the original context is a verbal trap set by the Pharisees to further their goal of getting rid of Jesus. The Pharisees would not even touch a Roman coin because it had the image of Caesar, who was considered divine by the Romans, so that would be idolatry in the eyes of the Pharisees. The Herodians were Jews who worked for Herod and owed their jobs to the Romans who had installed Herod in his position. They most likely fished around and found the coin to show to Jesus. The "tax" in question was a "census" or "head" tax leveled on the Jews by the Romans, which also required tax collectors, who were also loathed (as they are everywhere!)
Jesus avoids the trap but his response remains a challenge through the centuries. What does it mean to "render unto Caesar...?" Is this just a tax question? Or does it include obedience to human laws that clearly contradict divine teaching? Can we separate the civil from the religious as our U.S. Constitution is often interpreted to say? Can the civil law force Catholic hospitals to offer morally objectionable medical services? Can civil law forbid offering a drink of water to people waiting to vote or to a desperate migrant? Those are just examples and not meant to be exhaustive by any means.
When Christians are faced with a choice between "law and order" and their faith, the teachings of Jesus become challenging, indeed! On the level of human life, from womb to tomb, we are challenged every day to be prophetic and not choosy about which of Jesus' teachings we will observe and which ones we will contradict or ignore. AMEN