“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
History books and newspaper headlines tell the tale again and again, a tale of money and power. Who’s in charge? To whom do we owe allegiance? We hear the question in today’s Gospel: What belongs to Caesar? And what belongs to God?
The people asking Jesus that question aren’t earnestly seeking wisdom. They aren’t trying to figure out a sensible balance between the demands of church and state. They’re trying to trap him. And so they start with flattery: “We know you’re sincere,” they say. “We know you treat everyone fairly.” So tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?
It’s a dangerous question. Their country is under Roman rule, and taxes help support that rule. If Jesus says yes, he’s a collaborator. If he says no, he’s a rebel.
Jesus asks his questioners to show him the coin used for the tax. They produce a denarius, a Roman coin, marked with the face of the emperor. He asks whose head and title are on it.
The emperor’s, they say.
“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
They’re amazed. And they leave.
I wonder if Jesus’s questioners were as unsatisfied by his answer as I am. I mean, yes, you can hardly argue with the basic point. Give to God the things that are God’s, and give the emperor the things that are the emperor’s.
But what’s in each category? What belongs to God? And what is owed to the emperor?
Then and now, it’s complicated.
We live in a democracy, which means that we have some moral and ethical responsibility for what our government does, and for the things done on our behalf. What do we owe our country when we believe it’s doing something wrong? How do we bring our faith into public life while respecting the freedom of people who believe differently than we do?
On all sides, we hear certainty. Political leaders claim God’s approval. Religious leaders claim to know which candidates God favors. Some Christians want the government to force their own understanding of Christianity on everyone. Others are equally certain that the Church should never say anything about politics at all.
And through it all, Jesus says, “Give to God the things that are God’s, and give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”
And through it all, we remember that the things our governments do affect people we’re commanded to love.
It’s complicated. But under all the complexity lies one simple truth. Everything belongs to God. The twenty-fourth psalm puts it this way: “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and all who dwell therein.”
All who dwell therein. That includes the emperor. Whatever authority Caesar might have, he lives in a world he didn’t make and doesn’t own.
The words “all that is in it” and “all who dwell therein” speak to us too. They teach us that we don’t get to put our religious lives in one bucket and everything else in another, as if God has nothing to say about what happens outside these walls. Our work belongs to God. So does the money we earn and whatever power we have to affect the world around us.
But still we puzzle at Jesus’s words, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Not long after the incident in today’s Gospel reading, another set of questioners asks Jesus, “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He replies, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus’s words don’t settle every argument about taxes or tell us how to vote on any given issue. But they do give us a place to start. Love God. And love your neighbor. That’s a standard by which to judge our own responsibility as citizens, and a standard by which we can judge the things our own government does.
In other words, whenever you have to figure out what you owe to Caesar, judge your decision by the standard of what you owe to God. And remember that what you owe to God has a lot to do with what you owe your neighbor.
There’s something else going on in the story of the emperor’s coin that goes back to the book of Genesis. If you look at a Roman coin, you’ll see the image of the emperor. But if you look at any one of your neighbors, you’ll see God’s image. Which do you think is more important? The emperor’s image? Or God’s image?
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and all who dwell therein.”
We belong to God before we accomplish anything. Wherever we’re from, whatever we’ve done. We belong to God. We’re made in God’s image. And so are our neighbors. All of our neighbors.
Love God. And love your neighbor. And give to God the things that are God’s.
I still don’t know what that says about the details of tax policy. But it’s a place to start.
Cover image: A Roman denarius, from a photo taken by Mthr Margaret McGhee at the National Museum of Roman Art, Merida, Spain, 2017-06-23.