At some time every older sibling has pulled this on a
little brother or sister who had a nickel they wanted.
"Okay," older child offers, "let's flip
for it. Heads I win, tails you lose."
The little kids agree: "Sure!" Then when
heads appears the older proclaims "Heads, I win!" Of course if tails
comes up the declaration is "Tails, you lose."
At this point it suddenly dawns on the younger child
that this is truly a no-win situation. Whatever way the coin lands it's going
to land in their sibling's pocket.
In this week's gospel text the Pharisees think they've
concocted the perfect no-win question to present before Jesus: "Is it
lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" If Jesus says yes, he'll
alienate all those who continued to struggle against Roman rule and who
ardently believed Israel must only be obedient to God and God's Torah. If,
however, Jesus answers no, then he's immediately at odds with the entire Roman
Empire and has identified himself as a dangerous, seditious opponent. Rome
would deal swiftly with such a threat.
In the Gospel, Jesus escapes from the trap in the
question, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” by stating, “Repay
to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” By this
answer, Jesus reminds his questioners that if they are so concerned and careful
about paying taxes to the state, they should be much more concerned and careful
about their service to God and their obligations to Him as their Creator and
Lord.
By birth we become the citizens of the country of our
birth, and by Baptism we become the citizens of heaven. In every age,
Christians are faced with balancing the demands of Caesar with the commands of
God. Jesus’ answer forms the guiding principle in solving the problems
that arise from our dual citizenship, belonging to God and to our country.
As Christians, we are to obey the government, even when it
is pagan and non-Christian. A loyal Christian is always a loyal
citizen. Failure in good citizenship is also failure in Christian duty.
We fulfill our duties to our country by loyally obeying the just laws of
the State, by paying all lawful taxes, and by contributing our share, whenever
called on, toward the common good. Both St. Peter (1 Pt 2:13-14), and St.
Paul (Rom 13:1-7), stressed the obligation of the early
Christians to be an example to all in their loyalty as citizens of
the state. As the famous martyr St. Thomas More said of himself: "I
die the King's good servant, but God's first." Cooperation with
secular authority cannot interfere with our primary duty of "giving
back to God" our whole selves, in whose image - like the stamp on the coin
- we are made. Consequently, we give taxes to the
government but we give ourselves to God. A faithful Christian is a
loyal citizen.
A young lady was soaking up the sun's rays on a
Florida beach when a little boy in his swimming trunks, carrying a towel, came
up to her and asked her, "Do you believe in God?" She was surprised
by the question but she replied, "Why, yes, I do." Then he asked her:
"Do you go to church every Sunday?" Again, her answer was
"Yes!" He then asked: "Do you read your Bible and pray every day?"
Again she said, "Yes!" By now her curiosity was very much aroused.
The little lad sighed with relief and said, "Will you hold my quarter
while I go in swimming?" A faithful Christian is trustworthy member in a
community.
We should be loyal to the state and the laws of the
state, but when the state oversteps the mark and puts itself in the place of
God, Christians are, as a last resort, absolved from obedience. We must
give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and not the things that are
God's. We must “obey God rather than human beings.”
Since everything is God’s, we must give ourselves
to Him 100%, not just 10% on Sundays. We should be generous in
fulfilling our Sunday obligations and find time every day for prayer and
worship in the family, for the reading of the Bible and the proper training of
our children in Faith and morals. St. Augustine teaches that when we
truly succeed in "giving to God what is God's," we are "doing
justice to God." Our contribution to the parish Church
should be an expression of our gratitude to God, giving back to
God all that he has given us. This will help us to combat the
powerful influence of materialism in our lives and enable the Church to do
God’s work.
This Sunday we should do a thorough examination of how
well do we give to God what is His due. Do we take what belongs to God and give
to somebody else?
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