The More Important Citizenship - Matthew 22:15-21

In this short Gospel, Jesus tells us more about the relationship between Church and state than most writers could fit into a series of books. And the lesson he gives is as valid today as it was 2,000 years ago: Repay to Cesar what belongs to Cesar, and to God what belongs to God.

Made clear from this declaration is that every Christian holds a dual citizenship, and both citizenships have their own benefits and duties. Our birth made us citizens of an earthly nation while our baptism made us citizens of a heavenly kingdom.  Sometimes those citizenships overlap, but in the end, our earthly citizenship will finish, while our heavenly one will last for eternity. It is obvious which one is more important.
                                                                                       
The first reading reinforces that point, providing more context, when the prophet Isaiah repeats four times, “I am the Lord and there is none other.” You might recall a reading from Isaiah from about a month ago when God proclaimed, “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.”

Through the centuries, there have been many Christian saints and martyrs who have taught us that if we are ever forced to choose between the two, if ever Caesar tries to take what belongs to God, we must be faithful to our one true God and our heavenly homeland, even if it means suffering painful consequences here on earth. But today Christ is reminding us that, to whatever extent possible, we need to live out both of these citizenships responsibly.  So, how can we do that? 

Let's take a few minutes to reflect on how we can be good citizens of the state, giving to Caesar what belongs to him, as well as good citizens in Christ's Kingdom, giving to God what belongs to God.

Let's start with the duties of heavenly citizenship. What exactly belongs to God? We know from Genesis that all that we are, and all that we possess and all that will come to us is from God. And so Jesus was being quite purposeful when he used the word, “repay” when describing giving what belongs to God. Just as paying the poll tax to Cesar was appropriate repayment for services rendered, we repay God with our fidelity to him.

Just as the Roman coin bore the image of the Emperor who made it, so too the human soul bears the "image and likeness" of God, who calls us to a personal relationship with him. This is the whole purpose of our lives: to live in communion with God, from now through everlasting life.

As the Catechism puts it (#44): "Coming from God, going toward God, man lives a fully human life only if he freely lives by his bond with God." Freely giving back to (repaying) God means living as he created us to live.

And so, giving to God what belongs to God means 1) obeying his commandments, and 2) following the example of Christ, our Savior, and heeding the teachings of his Church. Ignoring God and his commands, as if he were far away, uninterested, or indifferent to our welfare - that would be a kind of spiritual thievery, like stealing coins from the Emperor.
                   
Similar to our heavenly citizenship there are duties associated with our earthly citizenship, although they will only last for our lifetime here on earth. God has created us to be a relational people who thrive when we collaborate in communion with each other. The pandemic has especially made all of us more aware of the need we have for the company, and assistance of others.

For us to live our human lives to the fullest, we must be responsible members of the communities in which we live. By banding together as citizens, we receive many benefits: from public safety to health and other public services, and beyond. And so, it is our strict duty as a matter of justice to give back to society through obedience to good laws and active collaboration, like paying taxes and doing community service. In this sense, patriotism is a virtue in which every Christian should excel, being amongst the most dependable and loyal citizens of all.
 
Now, as Christians who happen to live in a democracy we often find ourselves at the intersection of our heavenly citizenship and our earthly one. And when we do so, we must distinguish between, what are referred to as, the foundational issues where God has jurisdiction, those issues where we are called to follow his commands, and the secondary issues, where our allegiance is to the state, which in a democracy (where there is no Cesar) is to “we the people”.

There are many issues in life where people of good will can disagree. There is no healthcare plan in the bible, so Christians can disagree on that. There is no national defense plan in the bible, so we can disagree on that too. The list of issues that are important to us as earthly citizens are long, but they are secondary. Jesus said, “Give back to Cesar what is due him, but give God what belongs to God.” I’m not sure if Jesus had an opinion or cared about what the top marginal tax rate should be or if voting by mail or in person works out best, but he cares deeply about the things of his kingdom, the foundational issues.
                          
Pope Benedict XVI specified those issues in his Apostolic Constitution entitled Sacramentum Caritatis where he defined what he called our non-negotiable values, a concept that he repeated several times during his pontificate. Among the list of non-negotiable values that he identified were the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, the sanctity of marriage as a lifelong sacramental union of a man and a woman and the preservation of religious liberty. These are the moral principles which form Catholic Moral Theology. These are the foundational issues.
                                                                                                                             
I read a commentary that put it this way: The secondary issues, the issues of the state, are like the walls of a house: you can knock out a wall or rearrange a room without the house falling down, but if you mess with the foundation, you lose the whole structure. As Christians, foundational issues are our priority. They are things that belong to God, not Caesar. When Caesar tries to take them over, we who are God's children must defend them.

Our country is in great need of healing: Healing certainly from the disease of Caronavirus, healing from the breakdown of our culture and many of the institutions that we used to rely on, and healing from the breakdown in public discourse, and how we treat each other.

What these readings today have brought home to me, what they have reinforced to all of us yet again, is that the solution for all that ails us will not be found through earthly or political proposals, it can only come through our renewed faith in God. We might recall this passage from 2nd chronicles 7 14. “Almighty God declares this, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.”

No one who runs for office, who speaks in front of a camera or preaches from a pulpit has all the solutions that can take our nation, and our world, from fear and darkness to peace and the light. That’s the point of the readings today – God is our foundation, he is our strength, he is our father, he is our one and only, and we owe him our devotion and our fidelity in repayment as citizens of his heavenly kingdom.  

And so we pray, Dear God, we thank you for your provision. We are blessed to be citizens of this great country and we are blessed even more by being citizens of your heavenly kingdom. Help us to look inwardly to assess our priorities and correct them where we need. And help us look outwardly to see how each of us can build your kingdom here on earth. We seek to give to you what belongs to you (and nothing less) and give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar (and nothing more). Heal our divisions, strengthen our faith, and guide our steps. Amen!