Few of Christ’s words are so
well known by Christians and non-Christians alike, and few of the sayings
attributed to Christ have had such an enormous influence on Christian
understanding of life, politics, and personal obligations. In its context in the Synoptic Gospels
(Matthew, Mark, Luke), the saying is even richer and more profound than is
generally realized. For most of the so-called “Christian centuries,” however,
Christ’s words were used to bolster the Gelasian “doctrine of the two swords,”
asserting that each human being must give respect and offerings to both the
Emperor and to the Church. According to
this teaching of long standing in the Church, human beings must obey and pay
tribute to the Roman Emperor and to the Church, represented above all by the
Pope in Rome. But Jesus did not say,
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to the Church what is the
Church’s." Simply put, the Church
is not God, the Pope is not Christ, and placing the institutional Church or
hierarchs in the position of God is spiritually and politically wrong and
dangerous. Nor did Christ intend to
fossilize the Roman Emperor into an authority to be ever respected and obeyed;
he knew well that all human powers and authorities pass away in time. Jesus was not impressed with the power of Rome,
nor with any human authority, civil or religious. So what is the intent of this
gospel passage, and what might Christ be saying to us through it?
To interpret these words of Christ,
or anyone’s words properly, one must always take into account the context in
which they were spoken. In the case of
“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” as presented
in the Gospels, the context is that of a trap being set for Jesus by Pharisees
and Herodians—that is, by the super-pious, self-righteous ones and by the
cynical, secular souls of the power elites.
These groups hated Jesus, and sought ways to destroy him. Why?
He provoked them by his wisdom and his radical reliance on God alone,
and Christ challenged everything about their empty lives. Jesus was more than a thorn in their side;
they experienced him as a source of destruction for all that they held
dear: for the rigorous interpretation of
the Law exalted by Pharisees, for pious self-righteousness, and for the
power-loving spiritual emptiness of the “powers that be,” represented by the
clique around King Herod (“Herodians”).
Their question is a genuine search for truth, but a clever trap set to
bring down the naked power of Rome on the head of Jesus—to have him killed as a
political revolutionary: “Now, is it
lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
If Jesus answers affirmatively, “Yes, one must pay taxes,” then the
masses who revere him as a true Man of God will be turned off by his conniving
with the hated Roman oppressors. If Jesus
answers, “No, do not pay taxes to Caesar, a false god,” then these clever
connivers will turn Christ over to Rome for teaching open disobedience and
rebellion. And Pilate was all too eager to crucify another rebellious Jew to
protect Roman power.
I will save for this week’s homily
some fuller comments on Christ’s brilliant answer, and how he side-stepped
their trap—and trapped them. Suffice it
to note now that Jesus turned the tables onto his slick-wicked opponents, and
trapped the rigorous Pharisees in their false-consciousness: they were not truly worshipping God, but
money, power, Caesar, and self. For he
asked his would-be trappers to bring him a coin, and they produced one quickly,
perhaps out of their money bag. Then
Jesus asked them a question: “Whose
image is this, and whose inscription?”
They knew well: “Caesar’s.” These men could readily recognize the image
of the Emperor, and his name on money, but they could not recognize the Image
of God standing right in front of them.
The reason these men hated Jesus and sought to trap him was because they
were spiritually blind and wicked: their
shrunken souls could recognize Caesar and his image on money, but they could
not recognize the Presence of God in Jesus Christ—God’s Image in Christ, and in
every human being they met. “Blind
guides” indeed.
Practical upshot: If the Emperor or the “powers that be” demand
your money, pay your taxes. It is just
money. And cheating on taxes is wrong and immoral. But give to God what is God’s—your heart,
mind, and soul. And one’s faith and love
of God are genuine if and only if one recognizes and respects the Image of the
living God in every human being one meets. “And who is my neighbor?” asks a man trying to avoid God’s Image in
human beings. To whom do you owe
respect, kindness, charity, and truth?
To Christ, and to every member of his Body—that is, to every one you
meet.
