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Gospel: Matthew 22: 15-21
The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion,
for you do not regard a person’s status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
“Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax.”
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”
They replied, “Caesar’s.”
At that he said to them,
“Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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A teenager approached me recently looking terribly sad. I asked him, “What’s wrong?”
He said, “Well, I just came back from practice and one of the kids kept calling me an NPC.”
Not being up-to-date with today’s teenage lingo, I asked him, “What’s an NPC?”
“A non-player character,” he said.
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I’ll admit, I went home to Google the term. I even watched someone explain it on YouTube!
“Non-player character” is a term frequently used in video games.
Before you start playing a game, such as Super Smash Brothers or Fortnite, you must choose a character. That’s your persona throughout the game.
Non-player characters are like shadows; they only exist in the background. They move around, but have no purpose.
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The reason why this term – NPC – was so hurtful to that kid was because his peer was telling him that his life had no real value or meaning; he was like a shadow wondering aimlessly in a video game without purpose or function, making him feel worthless.
That’s something anyone can feel.
Maybe you’re a college student searching for direction; perhaps you’re going through a mid-life crisis; or you’re an empty nester feeling alone.
That sense of existing without purpose is particularly common among my peers. We millennials are often referred to as the new, “Lost Generation.”
Some find themselves going through the motions, working the 9-5, but lacking a sense of urgency. There’s nothing keeping them up at night, no serious reason to rise in the morning.
It’s a type of existential crisis that begs questions like: Who am I? Whose am I? Where do I belong?
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus leads us to an answer.
It begins with him being thrown into a red-hot debate.
The Jews hated paying their taxes to Caesar because the Romans were an occupying force that stole their land and sovereignty. The Jews were supposed to serve one king – God – not Caesar.
If Jesus tells the Jews to pay their taxes, then he’d be seen as an enemy to the Jewish cause. But if he tells them not to pay their taxes, then he’d be reported as an enemy of the state and would’ve been crucified for insurrection.
So, Jesus throws the question back at them. “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?” he says. “Show me the coin that pays the census tax.”
Notice, the Lord does not have the coin on himself. So, where do the Pharisees draw the coin from but their very own pockets!
Looking at the coin, he says, “Whose image is this?”
“Caesar’s.”
So, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
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These are two separate commands.
Give to Caesar, meaning pay your taxes.
The government is responsible for building our roads and bridges, safeguarding our health and safety, forming a military, and so on. It’s fair to pay for these services.
But give to God what belongs to God. So, what bears God’s image?
We do. The Book of Genesis reveals that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Meaning, everything we have and are belongs to the Lord.
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How do you give yourself to God?
Part of the answer involves being here on Sunday. We worship him together. But what about the rest of the week?
How much time do we spend in prayer; in ministry; in discerning God’s will for our life?
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“He kept calling me an NPC,” that youngster said to me.
“Perhaps you are,” I said. “Not a ‘non-player character,’ but a ‘new person in Christ.’ Your life and your purpose are drawn from him, not from this world or from what other people think of you.”
It’s true for all of us. Bearing God’s image means everything we have – and are – should be given back to him.
What might that mean for me today?
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Image credits: (1) Redbubble (2) Foundation for Economic Education (3) Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo