Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time -- Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras
Laissez les bon temps rouler! 

Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?

Should we pay or should we not pay?”

I suppose many scripture scholars and theologians of past centuries would be surprised to hear that Jesus’ clever riposte – “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s!” – is a teaching about the separation of Church and State.

The question the Pharisees and Herodians bring before Jesus is very important even before the American Revolution and Thomas Jefferson’s wall of separation: “May we compromise with evil?” 

For religious and political reasons, many Jews of Jesus’ day hated the Roman Empire, its soldiers and especially its tax collectors. Jerusalem in particular was a hotbed of resentment. They believed that only God should be their king, and they resented the high taxes Rome imposed.

But we should understand: empire is not always a bad idea, just as a federal government to manage fifty states is not necessarily a bad idea. An empire can provide good, safe roads from one city to another, a common currency, economic and political stability. It can promote peace, learning and culture. No empire is perfect; nor are any two alike, but as empires go the Roman was pretty good. 

However, it did not conform to the Jewish ideal of God’s kingdom. Nor, for that matter, had Israel and Judah when they had their chance in the early days of that millennium. The Hebrew prophets had insisted that any human being and any human institution can live by God’s commands but few people ever have, and no city or nation. 

So, while the Herodians and Pharisees raise an interesting question, their hypocrisy is blatant. No one lives in this world without some kind of compromise. Jesus proves that when he says, “”Bring me a denarius to look at.” They’ve got the money in their pockets! Had they looked they would probably have found a denarius in the common purse that Judas carried for Jesus. 

Jesus’ witty remark is both a frank admission that we must live in the messiness of this world and a declaration of independence for those who would live under God’s rule. Caesar can demand external conformity and he usually has a right to that. Play the game, live by the rules, pay your taxes, and don’t make trouble. Any citizen can do that and many citizens call themselves Christian for doing no more than that!

But know that God wants more. In obedience to God one man will join the military and another will engage in peaceful civil disobedience to protest the war. In obedience to God some will practice Natural Family Planning, others will be vegetarians, and some will practice celibacy. In every case we live in this world, messy as it is, and the only sure guide is neither law nor principle but the Holy Spirit. Entering the Season of Lent we must ask the Spirit’s guidance and ask Saint Paul’s question, “What shall I do, Sir? ”