This Sunday’s gospel is a short one but a clever one. I like how Jesus comes up with answers that would render the accusers speechless. In this instance he escapes the entrapment by the Pharisees and Herodians by saying that we should pay our lawful taxes as we “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”.
The homilist reminds us that it is indeed difficult to separate politics from religion. Much as the world would like us to believe it is possible, and asks us to leave God at the door when we come into a secular discussion on governance.
Both politics and religion aim to provide for the common good of all men. However, religion entails the moral and spiritual elements which are unique. We are the sum of the parts that make us whole. We are both physical and spiritual beings.
Therefore while we give our full support to the forces that govern our physical lives we are reminded to render to God our total lives since we are all made in the image of God.
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