Once in awhile I collect old coins. It’s not a major hobby but when I come across neat coins I may purchase them. My favorite coin, however, is this 1881 silver dollar which I found in a field under a tree several years ago. I was picking up some leaves and twigs for a small project I was doing and saw this shiny thing sitting there. To my surprise it was that coin. I cleaned it up a bit and keep it with me. But that wasn’t enough for me. I began thinking that there must be more where this came from. I scratched away lots of dirt and leaves and underbrush but could find nothing else. I suppose that people passing by saw me digging in the dirt and thought, “He has to be an Armenian looking for money!”
Coins are an interesting thing. They actually serve a dual purpose. They are, of course, an instrument of commerce and provide purchasing power. But they are also powerful symbols of who we are. They are minted in such a way as to identify our country of origin and are usually stamped with an image of a person or symbol that identifies our nation. Our coins bear the image of the founding fathers, presidents a native American woman and even symbols such as Lady Liberty or the American Eagle.
As powerful as these images are for us, the religious Jews of Jesus’ time considered them graven and sinful images. This was certainly the case with Roman coinage which bore the image of Caesar or the Emperor. When the Roman empire began viewing its emperors as divine beings, their image on a coin was seen as blasphemous by religious Jews and was not to be handled.
That is important to know when some religious leaders approach Jesus and ask him about the validity of paying taxes. Of course, the first century Jews were occupied by the Romans who imposed taxes that could be very burdensome. While the people resented being taxed, they understood that to not pay taxes could be considered treasonous. So, Jesus must be careful in how he answers.
To say “Yes, it is lawful to pay taxes” Jesus risks being seen as a traitor to his own people. To say “It is unlawful to pay taxes” Jesus can be accused by his detractors as fomenting rebellion against Rome and therefore subject to severe punishment, even death. Either way, this is a tricky situation for Jesus.
What Jesus does is to avoid answering the question directly. Instead, he asks for a Roman coin. At that request, the religious leaders produce a coin revealing that they themselves possess coins bearing a graven image. Since it is Caesar’s image on the coin, Jesus says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s but give to God what is God’s.” In answering this way, Jesus shows that he is not opposed to taxes in principle. Rather, he indicates that, if a person is able to fulfill his/her obligations to the state and to God, he or she should do so. Jesus is not a zealot or radical calling for the overthrow of the government or the avoidance of paying taxes. He is concerned that we be able to balance our obligations between the world in which we live and the Kingdom that we will inherit. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s; give to God what is God’s.”
I understand that some people look to this saying of Jesus as support for the separation of Church and State. But we have to be careful. Jesus did not address that issue because it was not an issue for him Jesus did not compartmentalize life. He did not view the political world as something separate from the religious world or social life. For Jesus, everything belonged to God and life was to be lived in complete union with God. God was the source of all authority and economy and religious practices. It is our union with God, first, that enables us to fulfill our social responsibilities. And besides, Caesar’s rule was only temporary. Forms of government are temporary; economic systems are temporary and religious institutions are temporary. Only God’s rule endures forever. So, rather than separate out the obligations of state and religion, Jesus encourages his disciples to see God as the source of all that is good and useful in society. We even learn that civil authority, if it is healthy and just, could well be operating under God’s guidance.
Even so, isn’t it true that Christians today still have the tendency to separate out our religious obligations from our socio-economic or political obligations. Many presume that God’s Kingdom must necessarily be opposed to this world or our society. Perhaps it is the separation of Church and State which is unique to us, that gives us permission to think in that dualistic way. However, Jesus’ teaching is that our earthly lives can be compatible with the demands of God’s Kingdom. This is a reality that the Church has steadily supported through its own teachings.
The great social justice encyclicals of our Church have always emphasized that, as Christians, we have an obligation to participate fully in the workings of civil society. Civil authority and society serve a good purpose and we are to fulfill the responsibilities of good citizenship which means obeying the laws of society, voting, participating in the political process and working to find ways of bettering civil society. We are obliged to contribute to the economic well-being of society which means working hard, earning a living and, yes, even paying taxes. It is our responsibility and duty to interact with others in the social realm and to contribute to the building up of a just society through collaboration with others, volunteerism and humanitarian efforts. We do these things, because they contribute to the establishment of a just society and a just society is meant to prefigure the Kingdom of God. So, as Christians, everything we do as citizens of the world flows from a desire to build up the eternal Kingdom of God. And, in the end, we understand that everything belongs to God. Even Caesar belongs to God. It is when we begin to compartmentalize Caesar’s rule and God’s rule that we begin to experience real tension. This does not mean that we should knock down the wall of separation between Church and State. Rather, Christians can work to create a bridge between society and God’s Kingdom.
But what happens when the state opposes God’s authority? What if the will of Caesar runs contrary to the will of God? This tension has been seen so many times. Even the Bible reveals times when civil disobedience was necessary in order for God’s people to remain faithful to Him. We understand that civil authorities can sometimes be corrupt. The law can be misguided or simply unjust. People’s human rights and dignity can be threatened by the very authorities that are designed to protect them. When that occurs, Christians must be prepared to declare their ultimate allegiance to the higher authority of God’s Kingdom. Some have even done this at the cost of their lives. The witness of Christian martyrs through history, for instance, bears testimony to this possibility. Faith-filled people must sometimes make difficult choices when it is clear that Caesar’s will is opposed to God’s will. Whether we are talking about acts of civil disobedience, trying to influence public policy or simply speaking out in a prophetic way, Christians must sometimes remind civil society that God’s authority comes first.
The ultimate goal, of course, is that the earthly and heavenly realities should work together for the betterment of all people. When the two are not in conflict, then we should live peacefully and obediently in both realms. As people of faith we strive to live with both feet in civil society while remembering that we are ultimately citizens of Heaven. It is possible that we “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”