Today’s Gospel passage in which Jesus states: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17b) might be one of the most misunderstood verses in the entire Bible. To better understand Jesus’ pronouncement, we need to understand context in which the statement is uttered.
First, let us remember that the Pharisees and Herodians were bitter enemies. The Pharisees were known for their adherence to the Law, and Herod and his courtiers were considered Roman collaborators – oil and water. Yet they are both so desperate to trip Jesus up that they are in league with each other at this point in the Gospel.
Second, Jesus has just told the people a parable (we read it at Mass yesterday) in which he pretty much heaps scorn and dishonor on the Pharisees. They are supposed to be the keepers of God’s vineyard (Israel), but they are refusing to give God the produce of the vineyard.
The first commandment given at Sinai is perhaps the most important of the commandments: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or serve them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their ancestors’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but showing love down to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (We all learned the shortened version in catechism class.) So when Jesus asks them to show him a coin and asks about the inscription, a coin that bears the image of Augustus Caesar and bears the inscription “The Divine Augustus,” he catches them in violation of the all-important first commandment. You might say, their goose is cooked. Jesus not only reveals their hypocrisy, he does so in a public forum which would have the effect of destroying any sense of authority they might have over the people.
The classic definition of hypocrisy is “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.” The word comes from the Greek word hupokrises which means “playing a part” as in theater. So many examples of this kind of behavior fill the pages of our news media that it is not necessary to cite them. We all know of hypocrisy in politics, in public life, and, yes, even in the Church. The moral authority of the Church has been severely eroded because of the sexual abuse scandal.
However, we must also admit that there is a little bit of hypocrisy in all of us. Claiming to be something we are not is a dangerous path to walk. Today’s Gospel begs us to examine our lives and weed out any hint of this kind of duplicity.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator