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Some of us are old enough to remember
Jack Benny, the comedian. His comedy made fun of himself for being stingy,
miserly. One of his best remembered bits was a man sneaks up behind him and
points a gun at him, saying “Your money or your life.” And Jack makes a pained
expression and says, “I’m thinking it over!”
In real life, I have heard he was
actually very generous.
It’s a good schtick, because we get
it. We know all about the tug of war inside of us when it comes to money and
possessions.
And, honestly, doesn’t the demand
“your money or your life” sound like a trick question? I have had many
thoughtful and sincere conversations with people who feel the conflict because
we know that, in this world, we cannot live without money. We also know that as
we grow old, we want to have something set aside lest we should become a burden
for our loved ones. When the subject of money comes up in the gospels, we feel
the tension.
Sometimes, it is Jesus who raises the
topic of money and possessions. When he tells the rich young man that he ought
to sell all his possessions and give to the poor. When he says do not store up
for yourselves treasures on earth. When he says woe to you who are rich. In all
these cases, no one asked him for money advice. But in this case, when the
religious leaders approach him, it is different.
There are some political machinations
at work here. The Pharisees have been on Jesus’ case for a while. They don’t
like Jesus. They feel he is interfering in their domain, that his teaching is
not kosher, in a word. And that he is a risk for Israel. He attracts large
crowds, he excites people, he is disturbing the Pax Romana. With Jesus, the
Pharisees believe, the Jews are at risk.
The Herodians are something different.
They are not a religious faction, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the
priests and the scribes. The Herodians are like a political party. They back
the Herods, a line of kings who had ruled in Judea under the Roman Empire.
The Pharisees need Herod’s support if
they want to eliminate Jesus. So they brought the Herodians along to this event
and set a trap for Jesus. “Tell us, teacher. Is it lawful to pay taxes to
Caesar or not?”
They speak to him as a religious
teacher, an authority on the law of God. Although they didn’t actually seem to
believe that, they are attempting to flatter him into believing that they see
him that way, that they seek his opinion about whether or not paying taxes is
the lawful and righteous thing to do.
Yes or no, Jesus, what is your answer?
If he says yes, then some of his
followers might be angry with him or disillusioned with him. The hope of many
is that they will be set free from the oppressive rule of the empire. If he is
truly the Messiah, there is an expectation that he will be the one to set them
free. If he says yes, the Pharisees may be thinking, that could be the end of
his movement.
But if he says no? Sure, some of his
followers would rejoice to hear this. But to say no, it is not lawful or
pleasing to God that you pay taxes to Rome, is to pit the law of God against
the law of the empire. To say no, it is unlawful to pay taxes to Caesar, is to
put himself in the crosshairs of the civil authorities. This is what the
Pharisees wanted the Herodians to witness. This is, very likely, what they
thought Jesus would say.
But Jesus, in his wisdom, finds a
totally different path. This is something I think we should all try to learn –
when we find ourselves in arguments about serious matters, we might take a
pause and ask ourselves: is the way our opponent is setting up the argument the
same way I see it? Is there another way of thinking about this?
Jesus does this. He takes their yes or
no question and he finds a different framework from which to address it. Jesus
invites us to question the premise. Is this a binary matter? Is it a yes or no,
this or that, question? No, actually. It is not yes or no; it is yes and yes.
Yes, you need to give to the emperor
all the things that the emperor demands, all that he is owed. And yes, you must
give to God all that belongs to God.
Yes, you live in the empire. You must
pay your taxes because you use the roads the Empire has built; you take the
jobs that the Empire provides. You live in this system and so you pay what is
your debt. This much is true.
But, by the same token, you live in
God’s world. Every day you wake up and breathe the air God created, see by the
sunlight God created, eat the fruit of the earth God created. This much is
true.
The powerful Empire created everything
that makes up the system; Caesar holds everything in his fist. And at the same
time, everything that makes up the system, including Caesar, is being held in
the palm of God’s hand.
Everything that is owed to the Empire
is also owed to God. How is that possible?
Listen, this is who God is: God is
limitless and, therefore, not bound by the limits of our imaginations. Although
we cannot understand it, we are still bound to acknowledge, to hold this
mystery, even if it is uncomfortable for us.
This is God’s call and claim on us –
and it goes well beyond money and possessions. For us, this has many
implications. For example:
We are not forced to choose between
caring for the welfare of Israel and for Gaza simply because we cannot imagine holding
both. God can imagine it.
We cannot shrug our shoulders at the
notion of the eradication of poverty simply because we cannot imagine it. God
can imagine it.
We cannot wash our hands over the situation
of our Haitian neighbors who have lost their Temporary Protective Status, or any immigrants who are being mistreated under current policies. Yes,
there is the law of the land, but there is also the law of God. Give to Caesar
what is Caesar’s; give to God what is God’s. Maybe we cannot imagine it, but God can
imagine it.
Just as Jesus was tested, we are also
tested. We are citizens of this nation. But we are also children of God. For
us, it is not a choice between being a good citizen of our nation or being a
faithful disciple of Jesus. It is a decision to love God, to love our neighbor,
and – as the prophet Jeremiah said, to seek the welfare of the city where God
has sent us.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and
give to God what belongs to God.
After Jesus finished speaking, the
ones who questioned him were amazed. And I am too.
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