Mark 12: 13-17
Then they sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
See With the Eyes of the Lord
In today’s Gospel, we are presented with an almost comedic scenario in which some Herodians and Pharisees attempt to outwit God. They thought their scheme was bulletproof: if Jesus tells them to pay the tax, they can accuse him of unjustly siding with a foreign oppressor against the Jewish people. If he tells them not to, they can accuse him of flouting civil authority and report him to the Romans. Jesus’ question about the coin isn’t just about the coin. It’s about created human nature. Caesar’s likeness is imprinted on the denarius, but God’s image and likeness is imprinted on every human soul. Civil obedience requires paying taxes to the state, but divine justice requires giving our whole selves to God.
The Pharisees and Herodians never expected that Christ would present them with a third way. But this is because they were thinking like human beings. They completely failed to consider God’s perspective. In the present age, we are likewise presented with polemical, seemingly impossible dilemmas on a near daily basis. In imitation of our Lord and Master, however, we are called to look past the limited, human understandings of power and politics. The perspective of Christ transcends all worldly ambition. We have to see with the eyes of the Lord and love with his Sacred Heart.
—Ben Jansen, SJ, is a Midwest Jesuit scholastic teaching English and anthropology at Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan.
Prayer
O Holy and Ever-Living God, open the eyes of our hearts so that we might see ourselves and our circumstances with renewed clarity and humility. Please grant us strength in patience, wisdom, and detachment from our own opinions so that we might truly seek your holy will in all things. Give us the grace to see with your eyes, and to love all those that we encounter with your most Sacred Heart. We ask all these things through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
—Ben Jansen, SJ