Homily for 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2011

The punch line Jesus gives in the Gospel passage today sounds wonderfully clear and simple to our ears."Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21). It's apparent simplicity has been used to justify compartmentalising religion and secular life, Church and State, over the years. It seems to suggest that our religious faith has nothing to say to the world around us. It seems to say it is Ok to be a Sunday Catholic and come to Mass then do what you will for the rest of the week. Of course nothing could be further from the truth.

It does help to appreciate the context of the passage. It is part of an ongoing struggle by Jesus with the Pharisees and leaders of the people. He has engaged in controversies with them over John the Baptist, over marriage, over the resurrection of the dead and over claims of messiahship.

In this instance the Pharisees join forces with the followers of Herod, that is, those who support Roman rule. These two groups were poles apart in their belief on many issues. Now they join forces to try and trap Jesus. This is the hidden agenda behind their flattery of Jesus."Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men" (Matthew 22:16). but Jesus was on to them and neatly turned the tables. He asked them for a coin with which a Jew was supposed to pay the poll tax to the Romans. The coin has an image on it, an image of Caesar. The inscription on the coin would read, “Tiberius Caesar, Augustus, son of the divine Augustus, high priest.” That in itself would be blasphemous for a Pharisee apart from bearing a graven image of a deity prohibited by the law of Moses. They are really caught red handed and their deceit cleverly revealed.

Whether to pay the tax to Caesar or not was supposed to trap Jesus into a compromising situation. Would he risk angering the Roman officials by not paying or upset his fellow Jews by paying the dreaded tax. Instead he tricked them. Jesus would probably have similar reservation about paying a Roman tax as the Pharisees. But sometimes one has to coexist with those we do not agree. The tax was not the real issue for Jesus. For him and his disciples everything is rendered to God because everything comes from God, even Caesar's power. His accusers, by their sophisticated trickery, revealed their hypocrisy only too clearly.

This episode is also shows Jesus teaching his disciples that following him does make some radical demands on a person. It is about who speaks with authority. And that is an issue which people seeking to become Catholics often struggle with. How can the Church demand obedience from Catholics in matters of faith and morals? What kind of obedience is called for? And then again what kind of obedience do we owe to our various elected Governments? So often such questions mean a long struggle within ourselves about what the truth is on an issue and how we listen to our conscience concerning it. It is God who has first claim on us.

In all the political rhetoric we hear around us from all sides there is common ground. It is about maintaining the security of our way of life, our wealth, and our health. Rarely does it call for generosity, discipline and self-sacrifice except for those who are already poor! In our search for the good life we can easily overlook the waste and extravagance of our society. The salvation offered is often just being distracted and entertained by incredibly well paid celebrities in every field.

For Jesus it all boils down to Isaiah's reporting of God's words in our first reading: "There is no God beside me."

Fr Graham