“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”  The last few weeks, we’ve been listening to parables criticizing the Pharisees.  The parable of the two sons.  One son said he would do what his father wanted, and didn’t.  The other son said he wouldn’t do what he was told, and then did.  The son who said he would do what he was told, and then didn’t, is supposed to represent the Pharisees, who talk a lot about following God’s command, but don’t really understand what God wants.

The tenants, who leased a vineyard and then refused to pay their rent, also represent the Pharisees.  God gives us all the land to live on. When we ignore God, we are like the tenants refusing to pay their rent.  When the tenants beat the servants sent to collect the rent that represents Israel beating or ignoring the prophets sent to her.  This parable has some of the harshest criticism of the Pharisees.

Finally, the parable of the wedding banquet portrays the Pharisees as the rich, important invited guests who can’t be bothered to attend the feast.  They are too good for the Kingdom of God.

Put yourself in the place of the Pharisees.  Their character has been attacked.  Their actions have been criticized.  They have been publicly embarrassed.  It is not too surprising that they want to find a way to make Jesus look bad.  They come up with a trick question.  “Should we pay taxes to the Romans?”  On the face of it, they have a winner.  Jesus can’t answer yes, and he can’t answer no.  A yes answer would mean paying taxes to the Romans, the conquerors of Israel, the greedy occupiers of the holy land.  A no answer would mean getting in trouble with the Romans and possibly being crucified.  Of course, Jesus said and did plenty of other things that got him in trouble, and eventually got him crucified.  So why doesn’t he just say, “No, don’t pay your taxes”?  Jesus is not part of the group that advocates violent resistance against Rome.  Plenty of Israelites did fight Rome, in Jesus’ time and later.  This Jewish resistance movement culminated in the Jewish-Roman War, which ended in the year 70 with the destruction of the temple.  The destruction of the temple was a major disaster for Israel and the Jewish people.  It was the destruction of their cultural and religious center.  The psychological effect was perhaps comparable to what we would feel if Washington D.C., with the White House and all the national monuments, was destroyed by a nuclear bomb.  The Jews were not able to practice their religion any longer with the temple destroyed.  Their religion depended on making sacrifices to God at the temple.  They were forced to reinvent their way of finding God.

The Romans would not have destroyed the temple if violent Jewish resistance had not provoked them.  Or, at least, this is how Matthew feel, writing his gospel less than ten years after the destruction of the temple.  It is no wonder he sees in Jesus the hope of a different approach, a nonviolent approach to conflict.  So Jesus doesn’t say, “No, don’t pay taxes to the Romans.”  But how can he say, “Yes”?  He first asks his questioner to take out a coin.  He then asks whose image is on the coin.  He receives the answer “Caesar”.  This is significant because Israelite were forbidden to possess graven images, images of idols, of Gods; and the Romans believe Caesar is a God.  Jesus has thus embarrassed his questioner, who is apparently not as good a Jew as he would like people to believe.  The Pharisees believed that they were better than common peasants because they were well off enough to be able to observe the purity laws that the common people couldn’t.  Then, after he has made sure his questioner cannot maintain a ‘holier than thou’ pose, Jesus gives his answer:  “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”   Yes, pay taxes to Rome, but give your allegiance to the God of Israel, the god of justice, of mercy, of compassion.  In my last homily, I observed that what Jesus expects us to do isn’t easy.  This balancing act isn’t any easier than the rest of it.  We need to do what’s required of us in our daily lives, without forgetting about God and what God requires of us.  What does God require of us?  That we do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.  But how do we actually do that?  I’m not always sure.   But I think the beginning of an answer to the question, “What does God require of me?” is to listen, to spend time in reflection and prayer.  I’ve got a confession to make.  I don’t set aside that time very often.  I say it’s because I don’t have time, but even when I have time, I don’t set it aside to pray.  Someone told me recently, “If you take time for God, God will give you the time you need for everything else.”  I think that that is a recommendation worth testing.  I am going to give it a try.  I am going to take ten minutes in the morning, and ten minutes in the evening to listen to God, for seven days, one week.  If I forget, I’ll try again.  If I don’t do something like that, I’m afraid I’ll get so busy I’ll forget which God I serve, Caesar or the God of Israel.

Matthew had seen the destruction of the temple.  He knew first hand the tragedy that could result from using violence, even in a just cause.  It may be that we don’t need to worry.  Our country has overwhelming military power.  We are more in the position of Rome, than of Israel.  And Rome won the conflict with Israel, didn’t they?  I suppose the question is, “How much like Rome do we want to be?”  Which God will we choose to worship?  Caesar or Jesus?