Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch Him in his words. They came to Him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” He asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. Mark 12:13-17
“Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to catch Him out in His speech, so they might bring an accusation against Him. With this end in view, they asked Him maliciously whether it is lawful to pay the tribute to Caesar or not… They wanted to see Jesus taking sides, letting everybody know whether He was in favor of this Roman tax or against it… If our Lord were to say ‘yes’, they would be able to accuse Him of recommending collaboration with the Roman power, a foreign denomination which the Jews hated because it was imposed on them by an invading force. If He answered ‘no’, they would be able to accuse Him of rebelliousness against Pilate, the Roman authority.
To come down either in favor of the tax or against it would mean, after all, that He would be telling them whether He approved of or rejected the lawfulness of the politico-social situation in which the Jewish people found themselves. Whatever He said, He would appear either to sympathize and collaborate with the occupying power or to encourage the latent rebelliousness of the Jews… Jesus does not evade the question, but by His answer expresses it in its true terms. The State should not elevate itself to the divine level, and the Church should not take sides in temporal affairs which are constantly changing and which are of no more than relative importance.
By replying as He did, He showed His opposition as much to the Pharisees’ widespread error of the day about a messianic mission that was political, as He did to the error of the Roman State’s – or of any State’s – interfering in religious matters. By His answer, our Lord clearly establishes two separate and distinct spheres of competence… As Christians, therefore, we must never fall into the mistake that Christ Himself was so careful to avoid: of uniting the gospel message, which is universal, to a particular political system – ‘Caesar’.”
Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 498-500.
As we find ourselves in election season in the USA, this text and lesson seem fitting to ponder over the next few days as we think about generosity in a world filled with political debate and diverse opinions.
Let us be generous with our carefulness not to connect the universal gospel with a political system. That may sound odd, but it emerges in my mind as the message from the Lord for us today.
Notice, Jesus finds Himself in the presence of some really smart people, in what we might describe as a no-win situation. We learn what to do in such situations by watching Him and taking good notes.
He does not join the fight for one side or the other or attach the gospel to either side. He rises above the debate. That’s what we must be careful to do in divisive times to preserve and advance the gospel.
And we must follow the example of Jesus who both demonstrates carefulness and renders everything to God. May this example help each of us in human interactions and our generosity over the next two weeks in USA.