In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus into making a mistake that could cost him followers or even his life. If he said that the Roman taxes were legitimate, many would hate him and if he said not to pay the tax, the Romans would kill him. The Roman invasion of Israel was a huge issue for the Jews of Jesus’ day. The building of Roman Roads allowed goods to be transported for export, and this brought huge economic opportunity for some. The Roman peace and the discipline of the Roman soldiers meant that families could live in peace with no threat of invasion by pillaging armies. All this investment came at a cost and that cost was Roman Taxes. For many people, this meant that they paid out 60% of their income in taxes. The census tax was a particular problem because the Romans required Jews to pay this tax using a Roman Coin that was inscribed with Ceasar’s image. Jews cannot touch anything with a graven image like this, particularly of a political leader that had made himself a god. Jewish leaders were torn about the issue of paying the Roman tax. The Sadducees who ran the worship at the Temple said Jews should pay the tax because the Romans allowed the Temple to function peacefully. The Pharisees argued that Jews who paid the tax were ritually impure and supporting a pagan empire, but most paid it anyway. Jesus threads the needle by asking for the Roman coin used to pay the tax. He reminds them that Ceasar has done things for Israel that require repayment and “belong” to him. By handling the coin himself, he shows them that handling the coin itself does not make you impure, but rather withholding what belongs to God does.

This Gospel is a reminder that just as with our own government, our faith requires a “tax” on all our income to keep our parish strong. The Catholic Church recommends that we give away at least 10% of all that we make; 5% to the poor or other charities and 5% to our parish. While few of us would risk withholding payment of our taxes, many Catholics do so when it comes to their generosity to their parish and to the poor. Jesus reminds us to “give to God what is God’s.”

Fr. Steve Boes