Episode Transcript
Gospel Mt 22:15-21
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
The Gospel of the Lord
Each of the gospel passages is something like a miniature painting. We need to take time with it, and enjoy it and think about it, and catch the details of it.
There are a number of details in this particular gospel passage that are of side interest. For example, it seems in the gospels as it does here, that every time that Jesus needs money, He doesn't have any (which is something a lot of us could probably identify with).
There's also the ugly use of information for malicious purposes. The disciples and the Pharisees were there to trap him. Their goal was not truth. Their goal was to use truth, or information, to destroy Jesus. And sometimes we think that as long as we hold something that is true, or factual, that we are guaranteed that any use of it is good. Truth, plus malice, is a sin. We get used to it because sometimes it's part of our political process -- you find something true about someone and you use it maliciously. We find it sometimes true in legal battles. It can happen in families. It happens to all of us and we all do it because it's in the air and we get used to it, and we know how to use truth with malice, and it's a sin.
But the main issue here is giving God, or as the gospel text says, "repaying" to God what belongs to God. That's been running through Matthew's gospel in the section. You recall the passages we've just heard recently on Sundays. The Master sends the servants to get the vintage from the vineyard, getting what is due. The king who throws a wedding banquet, calling the guests to come ... the father sending the two sons to work in the vineyard. It's doing for God what God is calling us to do.
There are two ways to look at repaying God for all that God has given us. One is to look upon God as something like a stern scorekeeper, or a taskmaster, and I know there are times when we look at God that way. We think that we repay God through sufferings. We repay God by just enduring difficulties in life. We repay God by getting up on a Sunday morning and coming to Mass.
Let's look at it another way. Jesus teaches that we should look upon God as a parent. He talks about looking to God as Father. And so, I ask you: How does a parent want to be repaid by their children? It costs a lot of money to raise a child, and you know that better than I.
Now, would a parent say to a child, once they finish college and are working, "Now look, I want you to pay this back on a monthly basis ... we'll figure out the interest.” No. What would a parent say to a child if a child said, "You know, mom and dad, you've been great for me and I'm moving across the country now, taking a job ... how can I ever repay you?" You know exactly what you would say. You would say, “we just want you to be a good person! That would repay us a hundredfold."
Think of all the things that you would say to God when you think of repaying God for everything, for life itself … for the air we breathe … the food we eat … for every moment of our existence … for our destiny that's eternal. God would say “All I want from you is to be a good person. That’s all God wants.
Jesus gave us a clue to what exactly God would say when He told that parable of that servant who was forgiven by his master and then went out and would not give to another servant. And the master said, “I forgave you. I want you to forgive like I do.” That’s what God would say.
How can I repay you, God, for forgiving my sins? And God, like a father or mother, would say, "You can repay me by being a good person, and by living like I taught you to live, by forgiving people, by loving everyone, by being generous and kind and truthful.” Think of all the things God would say, and let's take a couple of moments of silence to think about that, and then let's all of us try to live up to it.
