Father Prince's Gospel Reflection
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
A wedding ceremony was about to begin. Members of the bridal procession anxiously waited for the organ music to accompany them down the aisle. But there was only silence. One of the ushers tried to get their attention by snapping the fingers. Still there was silence. The usher then tried to clap his hands. Still no response! Finally the panicking usher called out the organist’s name: “Neil, Neil!” He fairly shouted and all the people in church obediently dropped to their knees.
“Kurios Christos – Christ is Lord,” was creed of the early Christians in the Roman empire of the first century AD. These Christians of the Roman empire, being Roman citizens, were required to kneel before the altar of Caesar. Once each year, they were required to assert, “Kurios Caesar” which means Caesar, the State is Lord! Thus, when the Christians saying “Christ is Lord,” but they also say that the “State, Caesar is not Lord.” They were affirming a higher loyalty than their loyalty to the State. They were professing a supreme act of loyalty for which many of them were thrown to the lions.
Saying “Yes,” to the hard demands of one’s country can be the manifestation of a noble patriotism. But there are times when a noble patriotism comes in the form of an emphatic “No.” There are times when “The nation under God” must mean “This nation is under God’s rule, as well as under God’s protection.”
Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees in today’s gospel should not be taken to mean, therefore, that God and State are traveling along parallel courses, that God is God, and the secular government is secular government, and never the two shall meet. It does not mean that our contributions to worldly interests do not converge. They do, in fact. What is Caesar’s? And what is God’s? That is the question! It was not only the Pharisees’ problem, but also it is our problem. Jesus did not avoid the problem, leaving us to our own devices, but he gave his life in order to demonstrate the formula for its resolution. He provided us with the general rule, but we are charged with the duty of working out the specifics.
This is the general rule for determining when and how the duty and loyalty to State is in conflict with the duty and loyalty to God. The right to human life and respect is our God-given right. The State possesses neither the power to confer it nor the power to usurp it. But it does have the clear duty to protect it and secure it. When the State carries out this function, the demands on our loyalty to God and country remain compatible, and we can kneel before God and express allegiance to the State simultaneously. But when the State’s policies seek to institutionalize the denial of basic human rights, we can no longer do the two things at once.
“Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” (Mt 22;21)
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