29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 18, 2020

Matthew 22:15-21

To understand today’s Gospel, we need to make time travel to the time of Jesus. The Jewish people in the first century AD Palestine were not free people, and they were subject to the Roman empire. Being subjects, they were required to submit heavy taxes. This money would eventually use to pay the army that maintained “the security” of Palestine. Naturally, paying taxes was one of the most irritating and politically charged issues. “Why should I pay for my own oppression?”

The issue of paying taxes is even more sensitive since the coin used for the transaction is bearing the image of Caesar. Not only having the graven face of Caesar, around the image, but there was also an inscription that said “Tiberivs Caesar Divi Avgvsti Filivs Avgvstvs (Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus).” The coin was simply blasphemous for the Jews who recognized that there is no god, but the Lord God.

With this background, the Pharisees were plotting to trap Jesus with an extremely dilemmatic question: “should we pay tax to Caesar?” If Jesus nodded, He would be considered a traitor for many Jewish nationalists and an idol-worshipper to pious Israelites. But, if Jesus voted negatively, He would be immediately labeled as a rebel and face the wrath of the Romans. However, it was never wise to test Jesus, because it would never be successful. Again, Jesus did not only escape the dilemma wisely but also taught a profound lesson for everyone.

He took a Roman coin and showed that it has an image of Caesar. Then, He said, “render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar…” The basis of ownership is the presence of “image.” The coin belongs to Caesar because it has his image. Thus, paying tax is simply giving back to the coins that since the beginning belongs to Caesar and the Roman Empire.  Yet, Jesus did not stop there. He taught also, “render to God what belongs to God.” And what belongs to God? The answer is those who possess the image of God. Going back to the Genesis 1:26, we discover that we were created in the image of God, and therefore, we belong to God.

Here, Jesus was not dodging the Pharisees’ bullet, but teaching a fundamental truth about who we are and where we are going. We were created in the image of God, not in the image of cellular phone, not of money, not of trophies. While they may offer instant pleasure, not of these things will ever grant us true happiness. Only God can truly fulfill our deepest longing. While these things are naturally good and can be beneficial, they are mere means to achieve our true end, God Himself. We might be preoccupied with pursuing wealth, popularity, or influence, but what is the point when we lose our final purpose?

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises reminds us that, “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created…Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent [detached] to all created things… Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created”

 

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP