“The Ultimate Pledge of Allegiance”

Twenty-third Sunday After Trinity – November 15, AD 2009

St. Matthew XXII: 15-22

In today’s Gospel reading we see that the Pharisees and their sympathizers are trying to spring a deadly trap on Jesus.  They first attempt to allay suspicion by sending disciples of the Pharisees to Jesus, perhaps to appear less of a threat than the Pharisees themselves. Also, some Herodians were sent along with them. Herodians were those who sought to advance the political-economic influence of the Herodian family. Often they tangled with the Pharisees over certain issues but they would form alliances with them to combat perceived threats to their power and status. Now this group appears to have been well coached, for they approach Jesus with feigned sincerity and attempt to butter Jesus up with flattery. They tell Him that He is a true teacher of the ways of God, and that He “regardest not the person of men” – meaning He isn’t influence by appearances or people’s opinions. Next, they ask Jesus the question that they hope will snare Him in His own words: “Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?”

This question is a trap because if Jesus answers that paying tribute (that is, taxes) to Caesar is okay, the Hebrew people chafing under Roman rule would turn against Jesus because most of them were looking for a militant Messiah who would lead them to overthrow the Romans. On the other hand, if Jesus said it was NOT lawful and okay to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees and Herodians could turn Jesus in to the Roman authorities as a danger to the peace, a revolutionary seeking to overthrow Roman rule.

Of course, our Lord sees right through the feigned innocence of the questioners and confronts their evil intent, saying “Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money.” They produce a coin that was a denarius – a day’s wage and He asks them to tell Him what is shown on the coin. The coin had a picture of Tiberius Caesar with the Latin inscription “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus” around the perimeter and on the other side was the image of Pax, the Roman goddess of peace with the inscription, “High Priest”. When the tempters respond that the image and superscription are of Caesar’s, Jesus gives them the memorable and perfect answer that allows Him to elude their grasp – at least for now: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” This is not the answer the tempters were hoping for. They marvel at Jesus’ cleverness and go away. They were perhaps too stunned to ask any follow-up questions at this point. But we may have a question or two about what Jesus is really saying here with this answer.

Because Jesus didn’t say civil government was entirely bad and that taxes shouldn’t be paid at all, does it follow that Jesus is saying that political and religious matters are completely divorced one from the other? That is a faulty conclusion some have arrived at through the centuries. This stance is one that is being pressed hard by our culture today that seeks to exclude any discussion or policy decisions based on Judeo-Christian values from the public square. On the other hand, neither did Jesus say that the image on the coin should be one of a Jewish rabbi or an image of a phylactery – a container that held passages of scripture, which devout Jews wore on their foreheads. In other words, there is no command by Jesus to install a completely religious government in place of the civil one.

Instead, Jesus’ answer leaves unanswered exactly what matters belong under which realm – political or religious. He leaves to us the challenge of discernment to work through difficult ethical questions that might be presented to us. But we aren’t left completely rudderless, are we? The early church, particularly Gentile Christians, took heart in Jesus’ answer, which led them to consider what was the ultimate object of their allegiance.

Gentile Christians were not chafing under the political demands of Roman rule like the Jews were. Instead, they took issue with the religious demands of the empire, which eventually forced Gentile Christians to pay homage to the divinity of Caesar under threat of severe persecution, torture, and death. They experienced a version of what has happened in some Islamic countries today where the religious establishment brooks no deviation from allegiance to those in power and their interpretation of religious truth. When faced with the choice of loyalty to God or pledging loyalty to the false god of the state and it’s claims of divinity for it’s rulers, the Gentile Christians knew they had to claim Jesus as Lord of their lives, not Caesar.

“Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Can there be any doubt as to where Jesus felt our ultimate allegiance should be placed? That allegiance, and it’s cost, was signified clearly to us when Jesus sweat blood in the Garden of Gesthemane and prayed that the cup of His impending death pass from Him. And yet He finally prayed to His Father in Heaven, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” [Matthew 26: 39b]. It was this standard that the Gentile Christians held to, even under persecution and threat of torture and death. Could we do the same today? What does it mean for us to render …”unto God the things that are God’s?”

I had the opportunity to reflect and meditate on these questions as I participated in the clergy retreat held by our Diocese in Montevallo, Alabama earlier this week. I could point to the parables and many other sayings of Jesus in the New Testament as to what it would mean to give God the things that are His. Certainly, we could cite the Summary of the Law – loving God and loving neighbor – as well as the Creeds, the Lord’s Prayer, and many, many passages in the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. James as touchstones for our faith and what God expects of us. But I would like to highlight just a few things experienced in our retreat that also illustrate what it means to render unto God the things that are God’s.

First and foremost was worship and prayer. We spent significant amounts of time communing with God in adoration, praise, penitence, and intercession. In addition to daily Mass, we also said the Daily Offices incorporating Morning and Evening Prayer along with the Lesser Hours of Prime, Terce, Sext, None, and Compline. The Church throughout her history has connected these times of prayer with the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ, as indicated by this saying:

“At Mattins bound, at Prime reviled, condemned to death at Terce, Nailed to the Cross at Sext, at None His blessed side they pierce: They take Him down at Vesper-tide, in grave at Compline lay, Who thenceforth bids His Church observe her sevenfold Hours alway.”

On Wednesday, Veterans Day, we heard a soon to be Deacon and former veteran, Mike Church, give a powerful testimony to the sacrifices veterans have made to ensure we can keep our freedoms, including the freedom to worship God as Christians. While not every veteran may be a devout Christian, one can’t help but make a connection between the willingness of our military men and women to lay down their lives for others and the model of sacrificial love exemplified by Christ. “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” [St. John 15: 13]

An interesting part of our experience at the retreat was being housed on the campus of the University of Montevallo, a small, private liberal arts school of about 3,500 students. We ate breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria on campus each day and you can imagine how the students’ eyes were staring intently at this gaggle of men in clericals invading their space to eat. One advantage to our visibility was that several of us struck up interesting and meaningful conversations with some of the students and cafeteria workers. We were blessed by these opportunities, including a special one that was given us by the woman who took our money at the cash register each day. On the last morning of the retreat, she came over to the table where some of us were sitting and sang to us a beautiful rendition of the gospel hymn “Our Lord Stands Us Up.” She then informed us that she had lost a daughter and son in a house fire on Father’s Day, but that she continues to stand and persevere, praising God each day.

Yes, life is full of tears and sorrow and snares of the devil, but let us “render unto God what is God’s” like this cafeteria worker does. Pledge to Him your whole life – all of it – your joy and your sorrow, and He will transform you more closely into His likeness where you can dwell for all eternity in His loving care.

And now unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all might, majesty, and honor, as is most justly due this day, both now and forever, Amen.