Our God is Lord of human history. Nothing happens that is beyond God’s power. God has a plan. The nations are not beyond God’s reach.
Isaiah testifies to this, addressing a king who is not a member of the People of God, Cyrus of the Persians: “I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun people may know that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other.
God’s makes known His plans for His People following their domination and exile by the ancient empires of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The new “ruler of the earth” is called by name. He is charged with allowing the return of the people to their lands and the rebuilding of the Temple where they could encounter their God Who dwells among them, setting the scene for the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah.
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The Gospel presents the controversy of Israel’s relation to foreign rules under the question of whether it is lawful to pay the tax required by the Roman Emperor. The question is presented as a setup for Jesus to be condemned either by His people or by the Romans. “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” The question is asked by Pharisees who plotted together to trap Jesus with His own words. They are not interested in the truth or even a private opion about which they have debated among themselves. They are motivated by malice.
Jesus asks: “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Here the insincerity of the Pharisees is revealed; they take out of their own purses the very coin that pays the tax. They had already accommodated themselves to pay the tax in question. They bought the currency that allowed them to make the payment. “Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, ‘Whose image is this and whose inscription?’ They replied, ‘Caesar’s.’ At that he said to them, ‘Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.’”
Relating to others in a world of contradiction and confusion is difficult. This is true for us as it was for those who questioned Jesus. Following Jesus’ example, we must look at what is essential: the dignity of the human person made in the image of God. The coin of the world bears the image of earthly rulers. Human beings are meant to be for us the face of God. To repay to God what belongs to God is to give ourselves fully to God’s plans.
Paul encourages the church in Thessalonica: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.”
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Our work is to promote the glory of God, acknowledging human dignity in every situation, whether of those yet to be born, those facing the challenges of the end of life, or those who have been displaced and live among us as strangers. We perform works of faith and love and hope by holding fast to our belief, discerning of the face of God in each human being, and by endurance through the difficulties we encounter.
God is at work in us and among us, no matter what happens in the course of human history. Through the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are set on the path to glory. Trusting in Providence, we are called to realize that we too have been chosen, and we are to “give the Lord glory and honor” as we bring to the world the Word of Life. “Shine like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life.”
