In our Gospel reading today, Jesus is prompted to choose between two rulers of the world.
The Roman historian Tacitus commented that the Romans make a desolation and call it peace. The image of Roman peace is reflected in the coinage that the Roman authorities would have minted in the new territories: a woman standing on the neck of a conquered individual with the inscription of “pax.” The Romans were willing to accommodate existing ruling and religious structures if two conditions were met. First, the vassal states had to continue to pay taxes for the benefit of the emperor and maintenance of the empire; the second is the maintenance of civil order, which contributes to the first goal. In a similar remark of Tobit’s wife in the first reading, one could see the true character of the Roman empire if an individual was branded a dissident for challenging either principle.
The other ruler of the world is the God of the Israelites. The person who reverences the Lord, as the Psalmist exclaims, has no reason to fear for placing her hope in the actual world power. It is the God who takes concern for the powerless and sees to their care and liberation. The Jewish authorities that approach Jesus are calling into question his covenantal fidelity to God. Paying taxes to the emperor as a symbolic act is contrary to the view that God alone is worthy of praise as the true ruler of all peoples.
Instead of solving the debate, Jesus’ response leaves us with a question: what truly belongs to Caesar or any government authority compared to God? To roughly paraphrase Servant of God Dorothy Day, we will have nothing left to pay to Caesar if we pay everything due to God. We should be wary when governments use Jesus’ response to silence Christians from advocating for those whose human dignity is violated. By our work for and with the oppressed, we show the world the peace that can only come from God reigning in our hearts.