Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Oh how some things never change.

The controversy in today’s Gospel about paying taxes reminds us that the debate that now rages between the Congress and the President is as old as the hills of Palestine.  There just seems to be something about government that leaves us all reaching for our anti-acid pills.

Even a government like ours that should take its marching orders from the will of the people at the ballot box, becomes a meddlesome thorn in our lives.  After all, even good governments can and force us to do certain things.  Force us in small ways, like filling out endless silly forms.  Or in big ways, forcing us to pay taxes. Just as the Romans did.

And so he debate about taxes goes on this very day.  On side claims that the rich are not being taxed enough.  While the other argues that budget cuts, not more taxes are the answer to our mounting national debt.  However, polls seem to suggest that the citizens are weary of all of this and just want to get the problem solved fairly.

Now I am not an advocating one side or the other.  But as I listen to the debate I am reminded of basic flaw in human behavior.  People’s stated beliefs don’t always hold up when it comes to action.  The fact is that we humans are capable of having divided hearts.  We, whether rich or poor have divided hearts.

Some want goods and services provided but don’t necessarily want to pay for them.  Some want decent jails for the imprisoned as long as they aren’t built close to us.  Others want to welcome the immigrant but are not willing to help them reach the dream they came here for.  We want prayer in our schools, but don’t pray at home.  Put another way, some people want a big party but don’t want to pay the caterer.

Yes, the fact that humans hearts can be divided is a reality.  And that reality is certainly reflected in today’s Gospel. The people of Jesus’ time were burdened by divided hearts.  As Jews, they owed their allegiance to God alone.  But their land was occupied by the Romans who also demanded some sort of allegiance.  And like us in the 21^st century, they found that taxes are a fact of life.

So then comes the question that intends to put Jesus between a rock and a hard place. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not.”  If He says it is OK, then they will accuse Him of blasphemy.  If He says that one does not have to pay taxes, they would have been running to the nearest Roman government office accusing Him of being a revolutionary.  But then we see the spirit of wisdom at work in Jesus’ response.  He simply said “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

In other words, Jesus invited His questioners to look honestly at their divided hearts. And He asks us to do the same. We all come to this Eucahristic celebration with divided hearts to some degree.  We sometimes come between that rock and a hard place and are caught in the middle.  Who do we owe, and how much.

It’s funny how “owing” is a big part of our lives.  We worry about our national debt.  We worry about our debts on our homes. We worry about our debts of gratitude to our loved ones.  We worry about our debts and responsibilities to those that are less fortunate. And well we should tend to those worries and responsibilities.  But how about our debt to God. What do we owe God?  Some may feel that all we owe God is our obedience to his Commandments.  Nothing more and nothing less.   Others feel that we owe him a certain amount of our time and effort each week in prayer and volunteer work.  Some are convinced that what we really owe God is a percentage of our income.

It’s a shame how we tend to minimize what we truly owe God.   Think about this for a minute.  God owes us nothing and yet gives us everything.  So, in reality, we owe God everything.  But, if we only see our lives as somehow an attempt to “repay” God for what he has done for us, we will always come up short.  No matter how much we do or don’t do we can never “pay God back”.  However, if we are able to see ourselves as “belonging” to God.  Then our lives can become something different --- a giving back to God what is already His.

Caesar’s image was on that coin. God’s image is on us.

Living with divided hearts never really frees us. It puts the weight of the world on our shoulders as we struggle with the challenges of life.   And it fails to give us that deep sense of hope we all need.  A hope which assures us that everything ultimately will be ok.  A hope that we belong to something greater.  And that is truly the Good News.

For the truth is, we are in the best of hands --- sustained, supported, and comforted by the One who is Love, the one who calls us his own. And, God never intends to tell us, “You owe me.”  Rather, He is there to encourage, assure, and forgive us each and every day as we struggle with our divided hearts.

Deacon Larry McDonald