Matthew 22: 15-21
Dear Friends. Today’s Gospel is the first in a series of different groups that try to entrap Jesus and thus endanger his life. In each case, Jesus turns the issue into a teaching opportunity.Today’s message is not the separation of church and state. It is a clear mandate on the centrality of our commitment to God in all things. The Gospel message is a clear and strong invitation to make God the center of all our activities.
The issue of the image on the coin is countered by the continuous and pervasive teaching of Jesus that teaches that every human being is in the image of God. “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers (or sisters) of mine, you did for me.” (Mt. 25:40)
The Gospel invites us to participate in each and every group whether it is social, economic, political, civil or even family by respecting the image of God in our brothers and sisters. This leads us to always being in search for the common good.
This is no easy task. All groups are a mixture of the good and the bad and a whole lot in between. It takes a lot of wisdom to discern the most responsible level of participation. Whether it is as simple as a block club or active participation in a labor union, whether it is the direction of an economic corporation or a PTA group: they all are expressions of weeds and the wheat.
All of our involvement in political or civic activity needs to be driven by the image of God in our brothers and sisters. This leads us to the very tricky task of finding the common good. This difficulty allows persons of good will to choose very different paths. That is why we have Republicans and Democrats, the right and the Left. In the end, today’s Gospel calls us to be involved in the very complex reality of our social, economic and political life. Giving to God what is God’s does not mean staying aloof but being engaged in the work for justice and peace at some level in our quest for the common good. This takes a lot of wisdom.
I remember being very active in a community organization as a young priest. Our goals were very clear. We were seeking justice for a poor in a neglected community that was suffering all kinds of social ills. It was all to the good in the beginning. But because there were flawed and weak human beings on both sides of the issues I slowly realized the thrust of our actions was moving steadily away from the Gospel values. Hatred, anger and gross self-interest usurped much of the program. No matter how righteous our goal, the means often were in conflict with Jesus’ teachings and values.
The same potential is in every group whether it be a PTA or a large bank, the Congress or the President, the bishops or the parish council. We always stand in need of deep and discerning prayer if our life commitments are to give “to God what belongs to God.” (Matthew 22:21)
