Both presidential and vice-presidential debates were filled with carefully crafted questions that could corner each candidate into some kind of trap. Topics of these questions usually revolve around issues that might divide people. There may be two ways to respond to these potential traps. One way would be to choose your side, accepting that you can’t have it all. The other way requires wisdom that not only sees through the true intentions of those who create traps but also answers in a way that opens up a new perspective to the issues.
In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is in a religiously and politically crafted trap. The Pharisees in the presence of the Herodians publicly ask Jesus, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” Let’s pay attention to the adjective “lawful.” It’s unclear whether the Pharisees are asking about Jewish laws in a religious sense or about the civil law in a political and legal sense. It doesn’t seem that Jesus has any chance to win them. He’s about to be persecuted for either treason by the Herodians or idolatry by the Pharisees. Suppose Jesus says yes to the question that it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. This acknowledges the emperor’s authority over Jewish people in their territory, adding to the oppressive power that be. It also raises the question of whether Jesus puts God before the emperor in his religious life according to Jewish laws. You can imagine those judgmental eyes of the Pharisees. Suppose he says no to the question that it is not lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. This would infuriate the Herodians who are the Jewish supporters of King Herod, meaning they are against Jewish independence. By saying no to the question, he can risk criminal charges and endanger his family and friends. There’s no way out of this trap by saying yes or no since nothing is designed to satisfy both the Pharisees and the Herodians. This dissatisfaction with Jesus or to put it more accurately, Jesus as their public enemy number one unites them who are religiously and politically against each other. Just like an ancient proverb, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. In their hostile attitude to Jesus, the Pharisees and the Herodians become friends. As we know, Jesus gets himself out of the religious and political trap. (But not entirely. His death on the cross was both politically and religiously planned.) What we want to pay attention to is not so much about whether it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. Instead, we want to reflect on what Jesus is trying to do here. I don’t think his intention is to avoid the trap. He knows what the Pharisees and the Herodians are trying to do, directly asking them, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?” It seems to me that even though he’s aware of their malice, he does not want to give up on them. He’s not trying to shame or rebuke them but to redirect them to see what really matters in life. So asks Jesus, ““Whose head is this, and whose title?” as they show the coin used for the tax. Consider his question not literally but spiritually and rephrase it as “What do you see on the coin?” At first, looking at the coin, we’ll respond like the Pharisees, “The emperor’s.” But look deeper (comtemplatio) and ask the question again, “What do you really see in it?” From the engraved images to the reality of people under oppression and uncertainty of their livelihood, its composition of copper, tin, and zinc, and then to its use as a medium of exchange. This introspection finally leads back to us, our human lives. This symbol of the coin can capture the nature of our human lives that we work and earn money in order to sustain ourselves. Now as believers, who sustains our lives? To whom do we belong? Whose head is this, and whose title? Whose image and whose inscription do you see in yourself? Whose image and whose inscription do you see in others? Alas, the Pharisees and the Herodians are blinded by their own insecurities that cause envy and hatred against Jesus. They are unable to see the image of God and the author of life in themselves and others. They’re enslaved by the engraved image of the emperor, which symbolizes their spiritual blindness to the presence of God in whose image they’re created and under whose inscription they’re to humbly place ourselves. So says Jesus, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The Pharisees and the Herodians know what things to give to the emperor but do they know what things to give to God? The Collect for Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost we prayed on September 20 sounds fitting: “Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure…” The things that belong to God are not the things that pass away. The spiritual introspection (or contemplative observation) to see through what’s essentially at stake is simply to be aware of God’s presence in everything and everyone we deal with. Paying contemplative attention to God’s presence is to be mindful of our union with God at this very moment. This contemplative attention is what keeps Jesus out of trouble in today’s passage. It sheds light on what really matters in life. Some of us might still look for the answer to the question of the Pharisees. (So what’s Jesus’ answer!? Is it yes or no?) Neither, either, and both, meaning he would like us to begin every issue we tackle with from our experience of being in union with God. Then, we are able to see people, not just a religious or political issue to resolve, who are beautifully created in the image of God. Amen. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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