29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Oct 17/18, 2020
Somehow, in the great providence of God, our readings for mass today are the famous “render unto Caesar” Gospel passage. With 17/ 16 days to go in our presidential election, what on earth does God have to say to us about politics and civic engagement in the midst of this chaotic, stressful, and divisive election year?
Much ink has been spilled and many sermons given on Catholics’ faithful citizenship and participation in our democracy. In my reading and prayer preparation for today, however, I began to feel that “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,” is not the important part of Jesus’ response, even though those are the words we remember and quote. The critical words here are from the second half, “render unto God what is God’s.”
How often do we give Caesar more than his due? How often do we give Caesar what belongs to God? [Reminder of the First Commandment?]
This was the subtle but damning accusation that Jesus made against his enemies in this passage. The First Commandment forbids making graven images of gods and worshipping them. Despite this, Jesus’ opponents brought Caesar’s coin onto the Temple grounds, the center of religious life where God’s presence dwelled. On the head of this Roman coin was the an image of the reigning emperor. On the tail, the inscription, “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Pontifex Maximus.” Not only was this a graven image, but it contained a bold claim to Caesar’s godhood.
Today, we face the same danger of making politics into an idol that these Jewish collaborators did. As William Wordsworth put it, “the world is too much with us.” It certainly feels that way if we become too plugged into the 24-hr news cycle, which feels like an emotional rollercoaster that we can’t get off.
I have a friend who is obsessed with one of our current politicians. He posts on social media daily about the outrageous things this person does and how much he disapproves. I am sure you have someone in your own life that this describes. I told my friend, “you are giving this person an unhealthy space in your mind and heart. You are giving this politician free rent there.”
I happened to suffer from this disease myself. I find myself checking news headlines constantly. In fact, this is pretty embarrassing, even while brushing my teeth I will scroll on my phone. It’s not good. This week, as I was reflecting on this bad habit, I decided to change notification settings so that I no longer get the news. Another change: I used to listen to the news on the way to work and the way home every day. A few years ago during Lent, I started listening to morning prayer on my cell phone on the way into work. The following year, I started to listen to evening prayer on my commute home.
This slowly but surely made a profound difference in my life. Some of the space in my head and heart that I had given to Caesar, I gave instead to God. And now, I find God living in those spaces within me. Not perfectly, but noticeably. This is where God wants to live. And ultimately, this is what we want for our deepest selves, as well.
There is a paradox: the more we give to God, the more free we are. The more God lives in us, the more peace and grace and consolation we experience and that we radiate out into the world.
No election ever ushers in the promised age to come. No president ever leads us to the promised land. In fact, whoever wins this election, our country will continue to be deeply divided and polarized—a house divided against itself, riven by issues of class, race and culture. Increasingly we identify political parties as the most important marker of who we are. Subscribing to the ideologies of those parties over and above the teachings of our faith and our relationship with the Living God. We demonize and condemn those of the opposite party. To put it clearly, worshipping a political party or politician is idolatry.
I don’t mean to discourage you and definitely not absolve you of the duty to vote and be civically engaged. Give Caesar his due, but no more. But St. Agnes, I challenge you and me to put our faith before our politics. This also means letting our faith inform our politics. Christ tells us to “be in the world but not of it.” We are called to put our faith into action in this world, but remember that we do not belong to the world or its rulers. Let the words of the Gospel transform our hearts and minds. Let the doctrines of our Church come before the ideologies of our political parties. Give to God what is God’s.
I close with the words of one of the Psalm 146, one of the prayers that repeats frequently on my morning commute: [Wed. Week 4 Morning Prayer]
In mortal men powerless to save
Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.
Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob
Whose hope is in the Lord, his God
The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them.
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