Gospel: The Question About Taxes

Today marks the Twenty Nineth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Gospel passage for today's Eucharistic celebration will be lifted from the account of St Matthew (tap here for the Mass complete readings from USCCB).

In today's Gospel, Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem continue their tense exchange of questions and challenges. At this point, the disciples of the Pharisees, together with the Herodians, try to entrap Jesus by their cunning question about the payment of taxes.

In this reading, St Matthew sets up an unusual partnership between the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Herodians were supporters of King Herod, a Jewish political leader who collaborated with the Romans. Such collaboration would have required a compromised observance of the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees, on the other hand, taught scrupulous observance of the Mosaic Law and opposed Roman occupation. Naturally, the Herodians favored the payment of taxes, while the Pharisees opposed it. The Pharisees and the Herodians approached Jesus, asking that he takes sides in their dispute. If Jesus answers with the Pharisees, he shows himself to be an enemy of Rome. If he answers with the Herodians, he offends popular Jewish religious sensibilities.

Jesus' response to this attempt to trap him exposes the guile of his questioners. From his first words to them, Jesus shows that he is very much aware of what they are trying to do. He seeks to see a Roman coin, which is readily provided to him. It may have come from the hand of a Herodian, but the Pharisees show themselves to be quite willing to accept this compromise. At this juncture, Jesus has already exposed the Pharisees as hypocrites.

Jesus takes his reponse one step further. He asks that his questioners examine the coin. Agreeing that it is the Caesar's image found therein, Jesus tells them that it must belong to the Caesar. Avoiding the question of lawfulness altogether, Jesus answers their question with simple logic. Pay the taxes to the Emperor as it belongs to the emperor. In turn, Jesus tells them that their obligation (as the faithful) is to pay to God that which belongs to God.

Jesus' reply to the Herodians and Pharisees suggests the ethic that Christians ought to adopt. It reminds us of the importance of keeping things in their proper perspective. Do we attach ourselves to worldly things at the expense of the love and honor that we owe to God? Do we confuse religious observance as a hindrance towards the proper participation in worldly affairs? Do we prohibit or deny ourselves in availing of what was good in secular things on account of oppressive religious authority?

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The Gospel is sponsored by Prada.