Homily for the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost - The Crisis of Citizenship
The Gospel - Matthew 22:15-22
Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith
Here in the midst of an election year, particularly with an economic mushroom cloud looming overhead, it is impossible to avoid candidates’ pledges to decrease taxes and increase services. Taxes, taxes and more taxes…each candidate accusing the other of being irresponsible with our tax dollars.
A sportswriter asked the boxer Joe Louis, "who hit you the hardest during your ring career?" His reply was, "Uncle Sam."
Oscar Wilde, play-write and cynic, once protested about the taxes on his house. He was told that by living there, he used the protection and services of the government even while he slept. Wilde quickly answered, "Yes, but I sleep so badly."
As the old saying goes, there are only two things in life we can't avoid...death and taxes...but we are all reminded regularly that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.
Taxes have been the bane of people's existence forever. We get a taste of it in the passage we read today. The crucial question is simple, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
The question is far more haunting than we realize. The Herodians were a political interest group who sided with the Romans and their occupation of Palestine. The Pharisees were obviously the Jewish hierarchy that wanted nothing to do with the Romans and wished they were back in Rome where they belonged. These two groups had an innate dislike for one another, but they had a mutual dislike for Jesus and were doing their best to get rid of him.
Now the tax situation went something like this. There was a ground tax, which amounted to one tenth of the grain, and one fifth of all olive oil and all wine produced, going to the government. Now this could be paid either in cash or goods.
Then of course there was an income tax, which by our standards wasn't bad at one percent of everyone's income.
Then, there was a poll tax, which basically was a tax to be alive. It was assessed on every male between the ages of 14 and 65, and every female from 12-65. The tax was about a denarius a year, which was the equivalent of a day’s wage.
Apparently, this poll tax, or the tribute tax as it was sometimes called, was the tax in question in today's lesson.
It was a no win situation. No matter how Jesus answered the question, he was in trouble. If he says, “No don't pay the tax,” the Roman sympathizers nail him up. If he says, “Yes, pay the tax,” the Jews will accuse Jesus of being a Roman sympathizer and he immediately has no credibility with his own people.
This is more than a tough question, but rather it is another confrontation with evil. It is an attempt to lure Jesus into a struggle of political power...a struggle of which he wants no part. "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."
There are a number of lessons for us here.
First, we can readily see, that evil is very real, and often approaches us through flattery. "Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully and care for no person's position. Tell us then..." Jesus saw through that immediately, and realized just as Napoleon did, that "He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander." It's a simple lesson to learn, but we need to remember what Adlai Stevenson said, "Flattery is all right...if you don't inhale.”
Second, it's interesting to note that Jesus’ response does not solve the problem. He does not give a definitive yes or no answer. He doesn't provide people with all the options to consider. But rather, he defines the nature of the struggle. For Jesus, discerning what is God’s and what is Caesar's is a test and a temptation.
If the church can sometimes support and at times must resist the state, then the answers are never simple nor are they final. The struggle resumes with every new situation.
And because the Christian person is a person of honor, he/she must be a responsible citizen. Failure of good citizenship is failure of Christian duty. We have a duty to
Caesar to return or pay for services Caesar provides...safety against lawlessness, education, public services, water, gas, waste disposal, Medicare, roads...etc.
But the Christian is also a citizen of heaven, and when a Christian person is convinced that it is God's will that something should be done, it must be done, or if a Christian is convinced that something is against the will of God, then it must be resisted.
Where the boundaries lie, Jesus does not say.... that is a test of conscience we all must take.
Jesus was called on to obey God. He was called to do so in the face of political mischief and he did so without the support of the community of faith. In fact his community of faith was doing all it could to discredit him as well.
One day, we may have to make a political or social stand. It may have to do with political corruption, it may be over an issue of judicial ethics or possibly even taxation. One day, we may choose to do so publicly. And if so, what we must always do, is NOT necessarily agree with our brothers and sisters on their views and positions, but always give one another the freedom to express ourselves, and support each other with Christian love and acceptance. And say to one another, no matter what, "this is our home and you are my family."
Finally, the dilemma posed to Jesus about taxes was further evidence that what he was saying to people wasn't being heard. Caesar required taxes, so taxes must be paid, but the disturbing moment for Jesus was that people were unaware of what they were to render to God.
Amos had already told them: “What does the Lord require of you, but to love mercy, to do kindness and walk humbly with your God." Jesus had told everyone as well: “What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus asked. “Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and render to God the things that are God's.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
