A Reflection for Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
You can find today’s readings here.
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
As the old adage goes, there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. Perhaps in a similar way to how we feel every April 15th, people in Jesus’ time detested needing to pay tribute to an emperor in a faraway city.
In today’s Gospel reading, a group of Pharisees seek to get Jesus caught in a pickle when they ask him if it’s “lawful” to submit to the will of an earthly leader and pay a census tax rather than devoting all one has to God.
This posturing is similar to our political climate today— autocrats like Caesar and democratically elected officials are obviously quite different, but questions of compatibility between religious values and our relationship with elected officials have always existed, especially in an election year with a Catholic as one of the two candidates.
As usual, Jesus is smarter than those trying to trip him up. When he tells them to “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,” it’s an important distinction to remind them of—Caesar may have authority over your wallets and purses, but God has authority over our souls.
Also relevant in an election year, it’s a reminder that while it’s human to stand behind a candidate you believe can make a positive change, it’s ultimately futile to greatly stress over who takes over for the next four years rather than focus on being united with God for eternity.
The “repay to Caesar” line could be a stand-in for pretty much any political leader; “Repay to Biden what belongs to Biden and to God what belongs to God” and “Repay to Trump what belongs to Trump and to God what belongs to God” both have the same relevance. Either candidate will both take a portion of what is yours, but neither candidate can put us on the path to eternal life.
So when you’re at the polling station this fall, remind yourself of this: There is no doubt that politics have the power to make the world a more charitable and equitable place, but only God has the power to do so without fail. We may never be exempt from paying tribute, but the spiritual tributes we give the Lord are far more important.
