Day 28: Things that are God's

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And some asked Jesus, ‘Should we pay [taxes], or should we not?’
But knowing their hypocrisy...Jesus said to them, ‘Bring me a denarius and let me see it... Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’
And they were utterly amazed at him.
~Mark 12: 15-17




Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.
It was an answer that said everything and said nothing.
It said everything because no one could quarrel with it; it said nothing because it did not decide in any way what belonged to God and what to the emperor.
The whole scene, of course, reflects a serious problem besetting the early Church. How much allegiance did they owe, as Christians, to the temporal power, especially one where the emperor was seen as having divine prerogatives or was openly persecuting Christians? There were clearly limits to the allegiance they could give. This resulted in waves of persecutions and large numbers dying martyrs’ deaths rather than compromise their faith.
It is still a live issue for us today. It concerns the question of separation of Church and state and how that is to be interpreted. It concerns the way we – both electors and elected – vote when sensitive moral issues are at stake.
In one sense, God has a total claim on our allegiance. There is nothing which does not belong to God. Nevertheless, society, through its legitimate authorities, also has a claim on our allegiance (especially during tax season)...
As Christians, we cannot simply isolate ourselves from the political arena, that is, the area in which the interests of the citizenry is discussed and managed. The political arena is inseparable from issues of truth and justice and there is no way that Christians, who are committed to building the Kingdom, cannot be concerned about the welfare of their fellow citizens. ‘The Church should not dabble in politics,’ say some. No, it should not dabble; it should be deeply involved in every important moral and social issue… but neither should political divisions define the faith.  The church should be Church—built firmly and first on Christ as the cornerstone and foundation.
The words of Jesus remain our guiding principle: We give (first) to God what belongs to God; we give to society what it has a right to ask of us: our cooperation in making it a place guided by the principles and values of the Kingdom. To do anything less is to fail to give everything to God.”
(by Frank Doyle SJ, Living Space Commentary) 
 



Prayer:
Jesus Christ, you are Lord.
Teach us—help us—to be faithful; in all things. with all things. At all times. Amen.



("Cornerstone" by Hillsong)

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