Reading 1
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
subduing nations before him,
and making kings run in his service,
opening doors before him
and leaving the gates unbarred:
For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.
Gospel
The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."
Reflection
When the Pharisees try to trap Jesus in the Gospel — hoping to get Him in trouble with either Rome or the people Rome oppressed — Jesus sees right through them. Hopefully, none of us approach Our Lord with such malice. However, we would all do well to remember that Jesus knows our hearts better than we know them ourselves. Thus, when we approach God in prayer, we can bring Him nothing less than our raw, honest selves. This reality is both a challenge and a comfort. Just as Jesus saw through the Pharisees, so will He see past any performative actions. But Christ’s knowledge of us also frees us from the pressure to sound a certain way or say a certain thing.
Our Lord speaks to Cyrus through Isaiah in the first reading: “I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew Me not.” In a way, He says these words to all of us. He knows us perfectly, even if we don’t know Him. When we come to Him in prayer, we can rest in the presence of One who sees us exactly as we are and as we could become, all while loving us unconditionally.
Not only does the Lord know us, regardless of whether we acknowledge or obey Him, but He sustains us. God is not the world’s most powerful leader, seeking dominance over as many people as possible. He is Being Itself, holding all things in existence. Thus, God’s authority does not compete with worldly power, but worldly power is utterly reliant on God. There is no existence without God. There is no Caesar without God. In other words, we all belong to God, whether we know it or not. As the Lord says through Isaiah: “It is I who arm you, though you know Me not…”
This dynamic is key in Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees. “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” The coin presented to Jesus in the Gospel bears Caesar’s image — but we all bear the image of God our Creator.
There is nothing inherently wrong with establishing and obeying government authorities; the Catechism teaches that the moral order requires legitimate authority, and that this authority comes from God. Still, we remember that we are citizens of Heaven before and more than we are citizens of earth.
We should strive to align political life with the God-given and universal values of truth and goodness. Please join me in praying for our leaders, and for the gift of wisdom, so that we all might do God’s will in all things. In a couple of weeks, we can also do our part by voting for representatives who will uphold truth and goodness. At the same time, we seek to give our entire lives, politics and all, to Our Lord, who knows and loves us perfectly — thus paying to God what belongs to God.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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