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One of the hot button issues in the upcoming election is taxes.
How much should the government withhold from our paychecks? Should corporations and the wealthy pay more? Should we pay less? Should anyone be exempt?
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These types of questions are as old as cities themselves. And they were just as controversial then as they are now.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is pulled right into the center of the debate. The Pharisees ask him, “Should the Jews pay their taxes to Caesar? Or not?”
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There seems to be no right answer.
Most Jews hated paying their taxes to Rome. Giving what little money they had to a foreign government dominating them was frustrating at best. They wanted their own government and their own land.
God was their king, not Caesar.
So, if Jesus tells the Pharisees to pay their taxes, then he’ll be accused of disloyalty to the Jewish nation; no one sympathetic to Rome could possibly deserve their support.
But if Jesus tells the Jews not to pay their taxes, then he’ll be labeled as an enemy of the State, leading to his arrest, and possibly his death.
It’s a catch-22.
Should Jesus risk his life and support his own nation? Or comply with the powers that be?
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Never to be outdone, Jesus turns the Pharisees’ clever question into a greater challenge of discipleship.
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Not having any coins himself, he turns to the Pharisees, and says, “Bring me a denarius to look at.” A denarius was the Roman coin bearing the face of Caesar.
And where else do the Pharisees draw a coin from but their very own pockets? A reminder to them that they were complicit and paid their taxes, too.
Caesar provided his citizens – including the Jews – with water, roads, commerce, and the protection of an army. As emperor, he held power over earthly things, so it was just to give Caesar their coin.
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” Jesus says, “but to God what belongs to God.”
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What belongs to God?
We do.
While a denarius bore the image of Caesar, human beings bear the image and likeness of God. So Caesar gets our coin, but God deserves our lives.
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How, then, do we give God our lives?
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By infusing every decision we make with faith.
Faith isn’t just one big decision we make at some point in our lives; it’s a thousand little decisions throughout our day.
As someone once said, “Faith is lived minute by minute.”
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Take, for example, the two fundamental commandments of Jesus: love your God and love your neighbor.
In this heated political climate, it’s become increasingly difficult to love all of those whom we should consider our neighbor.
But those who disagree with us – even our sworn enemies – bear the image of God. We should love them, too.
Day by day, minute by minute.
Think about the way we’ve treated one another over the past few months. Do we slander others with our speech or post divisive things online?
Have our hearts become so hardened that we cannot bear to listen to another opinion? Do we find ourselves increasingly angry, judgmental, and filled with negativity, as opposed to love?
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Faith is a series of small decisions that humbles our ego and expands our heart. It influences our speech; our behavior; our beliefs; our morals; our entire lives, minute by minute, day by day.
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So, how might my faith influence – or change – my words and actions this week? How can I give the Lord – and my neighbor – a little more of my heart?
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Give Caesar your coin.
But give God your life.
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