Fr. Bob's Reflection for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Guest Post

If you visit the Manchester Museum in England, you will find an exhibit containing Roman coins from the time of Jesus. Among them is a small, silver coin called a denarius. If you could hold that ancient coin in your hand and turn it over, you might find yourself transported back to the world of the Gospels. A coin very much like it appears at the center of today’s Gospel, when the Pharisees and the followers of Herod attempt to trap Jesus with a question about taxes. On one side of the coin is the image of Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor who ruled during Jesus’ ministry. He is the same Caesar mentioned by Luke in connection with the time of John the Baptist’s preaching at the Jordan River. On the reverse side is Livia, Tiberius’ mother, seated and holding an olive branch. The question posed to Jesus seems simple enough: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” But there was nothing simple about the question. Why did they ask it? Jesus reveals their intentions when He responds, “Why are you putting Me to the test?” Those questioning Him were divided. The followers of Herod generally supported Rome and accepted its authority to collect taxes. The Pharisees, meanwhile, opposed the tax on religious and political grounds, although they paid it to avoid conflict with Rome. It was a carefully constructed trap. No matter how Jesus answered, they believed He would offend one side or the other. Then Jesus asks them to produce a coin. The silver denarius, stamped with Caesar’s image, provides Jesus with the perfect way to answer. He asks them whose image appears on the coin. When they answer, “Caesar’s,” Jesus responds, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” In a sense, Jesus leads them to answer their own question. The coin bears Caesar’s image, so it belongs within the realm of Caesar. But Jesus’ final words take us somewhere much deeper. We, too, have a kind of dual citizenship. We are citizens of this world, but we are also citizens of Heaven. Most of the time, those two identities can peacefully coexist. But there are moments when the demands of this world conflict with the demands of God. Consider the life of St. Thomas More, the English martyr. King Henry VIII wanted his marriage annulled, but Rome refused. The king then took matters into his own hands and married again. He ordered his friends and officials to sign a document affirming that he had acted lawfully. Many agreed. Thomas More refused. More understood that there was a limit to what he could give to an earthly king. When the demands of the world came into conflict with his conscience and his loyalty to God, he chose faithfulness to God – even at the cost of his life. That is the deeper lesson of today’s Gospel. Yes, the Roman coin may have been stamped with the image of Caesar. But we are stamped with the image of God. And while we may have responsibilities to this world, our ultimate allegiance belongs to the One whose image is written upon our hearts. Fr. Robert Warren, S.A. Headshot Yours in Christ, Fr. Robert Warren, S.A. Spiritual Director