29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A): Who do I belong to?

Who do I belong to?

“Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”
Matthew 22:15-21

In previous Sundays we heard how Jesus harshly denounced the religious and political leaders through three parables, drawing their hostility upon himself: by now they had decided to get rid of him. All they were looking for was a pretext.

1. A well-orchestrated trap

“The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians.”

Herodians and Pharisees join forces, even though they are opponents, in an attempt to find a way to eliminate Jesus. The disciples of the Pharisees begin with a lengthy eulogy of the “Teacher” before putting to him the question agreed upon with the Herodians: “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
The trap was cleverly devised. If Jesus had answered “yes,” he would have risked alienating the people, who deeply resented Roman rule. If he had answered “no,” they could have accused him of being a subversive.

2. Jesus, a master of discernment

In Jesus’ reply, despite its brevity, we can discern a genuine lesson in Christian discernment and, more specifically, four valuable indications for us as well.

1) FREEDOM: “You hypocrites!”

First step: Jesus reveals himself as a free person. He is not won over by the Pharisees’ flattery and exposes their hypocrisy.
And this is precisely where we too so often stumble. We allow ourselves to be conditioned by praise or by the opinions of others, ultimately limiting our freedom and our clarity of judgment.

2) QUESTIONING: “Why are you putting me to the test?”

Jesus often answers a question with another question. Asking questions of those who challenge us is a way of involving them, making them take responsibility and inviting them to reflect.
A passive attitude in the face of problems has been one of the limitations that marked part of the Catholic laity, also as a consequence of a clericalism that, for centuries, profoundly influenced the life of the Church. The tendency sometimes to present herself as already possessing all the answers may also have contributed to the difficulty the Church experiences today in dialogue with certain areas of Western culture.
It seems to me that we must also learn to say: “I don’t know.” It means humbly acknowledging our limitations in the face of the complexity and novelty of many contemporary questions, without giving up the search, but sincerely setting out on a journey to understand them better.

3) LOOKING: “Show me the coin used for the tax”

Jesus takes a third decisive step: looking at concrete reality. He asks to see the coin used for the tax and, in doing so, catches his interlocutors off guard.
That coin, bearing the image of Tiberius and an inscription with strong religious significance, made the power of Rome visible. The fact that it was present precisely in the Temple area also highlighted an obvious contradiction, given the Jewish distrust of images that could take on an idolatrous character.
Thus, those who wanted to put Jesus to the test end up being confronted with their own contradictions.

4) REFRAMING: “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s!”

The fourth moment consists in placing the concrete situation back within a broader horizon. An issue that is isolated and absolutized risks becoming a partial truth and, precisely for this reason, a deceptive one. Only a greater light allows us to put it into perspective and place it in its proper context.

“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” is one of the most famous sayings in the Gospel, but also one of the most enigmatic. It is often interpreted as though there were two clearly separate spheres: “earthly things” entrusted to Caesar and “spiritual things” reserved for God.

But what belongs to Caesar? Caesar is responsible for matters concerning civil life: guaranteeing order, social peace, freedom and justice.

And what belongs to God? Everything. “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god… I am the Lord, and there is no other!” (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6).

If the coin bears Caesar’s image and can therefore be returned to Caesar, the human being bears the image of God impressed upon him. The whole human person must therefore be returned to God. Here lies Jesus’ great claim: “Give to God what belongs to God!”

From this arises a decisive question: Who do I belong to? To a family, a profession, a social group, a people, a nation? Certainly. But Jesus reminds us that there is a belonging deeper than all the others: you belong to God.

3. Caesar’s money and Jesus’ coin

Allow me now a somewhat daring image. The money used to pay Caesar’s tax makes me think of the coin that Peter, at Jesus’ instruction, takes from the mouth of the fish to pay the Temple tax (Matthew 17:24-27). One single coin for Jesus and Peter: both of them, in some way, associated in that coin.

What symbolic image might we imagine stamped upon it? On the obverse, the image of Christ; on the reverse, that of Peter. The image of Christ on the front and, on the back, mine or yours. Two sides of the same coin! Each one of us belongs to Christ, and Christ… “belongs” to each one of us! (see 1 Corinthians 3:22-23).

For personal reflection and prayer

Today, the penultimate Sunday of October, the Church celebrates World Mission Day. Established by Pius XI in 1926, this year it marks its hundredth observance. Pope Leo XIV has chosen as its theme: “One in Christ, united in mission.” I invite you to read the Holy Father’s Message and, during this week, to return to the prayer found at its conclusion:

Holy Father, make us one in Christ, rooted in his love that unites and renews. May all members of the Church be united in mission, docile to the Holy Spirit, courageous in bearing witness to the Gospel, proclaiming and daily embodying your faithful love for all creatures.
Bless all missionary men and women, support them in their efforts, and watch over them in hope!
Mary, Queen of Missions, accompany our work of evangelization in every corner of the earth: make us instruments of peace, and grant that the whole world may recognize in Christ the light that saves. Amen.

Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ

Gospel reflection

Matthew 22:15-21

The passage’s final sentence is one of the most famous, but also the most enigmatic. It is not easy to establish the meaning, so it is not always mentioned apropos. It is sometimes used by those in power to ask the Church hierarchy not to meddle in political affairs. Other times these are the ones reminding the rulers to assert its right to defend and proclaim the values ​​that flow from the Gospel. It was used, however, by those who supported the papal hierocracy and advocated the caesaropapism against those who defended the secular state. They also dreamt of subjecting the state to the religious power by sacralizing the institutions and justifying the temporal power of the Church. Someone, more simply, uses it as an invitation to give everyone what they deserve.

To understand the phrase, there is a need to place it in the context of the dialogue from where it came from.

The Emperor of Rome demanded of each of his subjects an annual monetary payment to the treasury. Those who had attained the age of fourteen (man), twelve (woman) and up to sixty-five years were obliged to pay. It was the tributum capitis or testatico for which the heinous censuses were done often provoking popular uprisings (Lk 2:1-5; Acts 5:37). Counting the people who belonged to God was equivalent, for the pious Israelite, to shielding one from the authority of the Lord and to enslaving one to a human power. For this reason, after the census, David felt his heart beat and said, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; I have acted foolishly” (2 S 24:10).

One day the Pharisees, accompanied by supporters of Herod, present themselves to Jesus. In a very respectful way, having recognized his love for the truth and his rejection of compromise, ask him a tricky question: “Master, we know that you are an honest man and truly teach God’s way. You are not influenced by others nor are you afraid of anyone. So tell us what you think: is it against the Law to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (vv. 16-17).

This alliance between the Pharisees and Herodians is strange. They first thought it impious to support the Roman occupation; the latter were instead supporters of Herod Antipas, the puppet with no personality, dominated by Emperor Tiberius, and they were collaborators. We find them allied against Jesus because he annoyed both. He was loyal and refused all forms of hypocrisy.

Their question is worded in such a way as to make it impossible for any loophole: If one is against the payment of taxes, he could be denounced to the Roman authorities as a subversive. (In fact, according to Lk 23:2, before Pilate they accused him of inciting the people not to pay taxes to Caesar). If he is in favor, he attracts the antipathy of the people who hate the Roman colonizers.

All taxes are reluctantly paid anywhere but, to make the tribute odious, a religious cause was added in Palestine. The money required had on one side a representation of the Emperor of Rome and the inscription: “Tiberius Caesar, august son of the divine Augustus” and on the back the title “Supreme Pontiff” with the image of a seated woman, a symbol of peace, perhaps Livia, the mother of Tiberius. In 1960 about thirty pieces of these coins were found on Mount Carmel.

It is known that the Israelites disliked human images, prohibited by their law. Using the money of Tiberius meant to give one’s consent to a form of idolatry. Jesus is aware of the pitfalls that they have laid for him. He does not avoid the question. As he usually does, he skillfully leads the interlocutors at the root of the problem.

He wants them first to show him the money. They naively reach out under the tunic where they usually hide the money (clothes at that time had no pockets) and they present it to him. They do not realize that Jesus is playing with them: first, he asks for the money. It means that he does not possess it (for he does not even have a stone to lay his head; Mt 8:20), and if they pull it out, it means that they use it without any problem. They receive it for their services, and with it, they buy the products at the market. What’s more, the dispute takes place in the precincts of the temple (Mt 21:23), and in the holy place, and they do not bother to profane it by showing that image. They have scruples only when they have to pay taxes.

After looking at the money Jesus asks, “Whose image is this?” “Caesar’s,” they say. “So—he concludes—give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s” (v. 21).

The first message that Jesus wants to give is clear. It is a moral duty as well as civil to contribute to the common good with the payment of tribute. There is no reason that justifies tax evasion or theft of state assets. Whatever the policy and economic choice of the government, the disciple of Christ is called to be an honest and exemplary citizen. He is actively engaged in building a just society and shuns the subterfuge. He makes political choices that favor the weakest, not those that safeguard their own interests.

Writing to the Romans, Paul restates in more explicit terms the directive of the Master. We are at the beginning of Nero’s reign—the Emperor is in his twenties and for three years he initially governs in a lenient and moderate way. Here’s what the apostle recommends to the Christians in the capital: “Let everyone be subject to no authority that does not come from God, and the offices have been established by God. Whoever, therefore, resists authority goes against a decree of God and those who resist deserve to be condemned. It is necessary to obey not through fear but as a matter of conscience. In the same way, you must pay taxes and the collectors are God’s officials. Pay to all what is due them, to whomever you owe contributions, make a contribution; to whom taxes are due, pay taxes; to whom respect is due, give respect” (Rom 13:1-7).

Jesus’ answer, however, is not limited to state the duty to contribute to the common good with the payment of taxes. He adds: “Give to God what is God’s.”

The verb he uses more precisely means “to return.” Looking to the present, therefore, he says, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and return to God what is God’s.” They are not only holding back the money that should be handed over to the emperor, but they also seized illegally and unjustly, a property of God. They must give it back right away because he claims it; it is his.

Tertullian already in 200 A.D. realized that he was the person that was handed back to God. Creating him, in fact, he had said: “Let us make man in our image, to our likeness. So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him” (Gen 1:26-27).

If the coin had to be “returned” to Caesar because on it was stamped the face of his master, the person must be “returned” to God. The human being is the only creature on whom the face of God is imprinted. He is sacred and no one can take him as his own. Those who make them their own (enslave, oppress, exploit, dominate, and use them, as an object) should immediately return him to his Lord.

READ: The hostility between Jesus and the religious authorities built up day-by-day. Because of this, the Pharisees plotted with the Herodians on how to trap Jesus. They tried to trip him with a question that will either implicate Jesus on religious grounds or if not, on political grounds. Jesus sidestepped the trap with a clever reply.

ACT: To be just, we have to do just acts. Let us start by working for justice not just advocating it.

REFLECT: If one were to settle the question as to whom our lives belong, one must look at the engraved image in our souls – whose would it be? Caesar’s or God’s who has shaped, known, and called us even before we were born? Let us give to God what belongs to God – our very lives.

PRAY: Let us ask that justice will reign in our land starting with ourselves and our community. Let us pray for a true sense of belongingness to God and his Kingdom.

Fernando Armellini
Italian missionary and biblical scholar