To highlight the divine pre-eminence above all things, the title should have reversed the order: God and the empire. But I choose to follow the order by which our Lord Jesus uttered these words in today’s Gospel reading: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”
I choose to comment on the Gospel reading today because this passage is often misunderstood. Many would interpret this passage to refer to the principle of separation of Church and State. A basic knowledge of history would show how erroneous this interpretation is. There was no separation of Church and State during the time of Jesus. The principle gradually evolved to be the guiding rule of most modern states only during the period of the enlightenment. Even now, some states do not follow this principle. I am not simply referring to countries which are theocratic like Iran. Even a modern state like England does not totally practice the principle. In its set-up, the King is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Thus, Jesus could not have talked about a principle which did not exist during his time.
There are also those who take the statement to mean absolute obedience to the State. It is a sad page in the history of the interpretation of this passage that it was used by some Christians to justify absolute obedience to Hitler and to Franco. In recent memory, there were those who used this passage to call on Christians to support state-sanctioned extra-judicial killing.
What was meant by the statement? There was an attempt to trap Jesus by the Pharisees who asked whether it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. Either an affirmative or a negative answer would put Jesus into trouble. A yes answer would discredit Jesus before nationalistic Jews. A negative answer would open him to the charge of sedition.
But Jesus masterfully escaped from the trap by saying, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” We need to know more of the historical context. There were nationalistic Jews who believed that using coins where the face of Caesar was engraved was against the commandment, “You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or likeness of anything…” These Jews chose to use coins without engraved images. By showing a coin with an engraved face of the emperor, the interlocutors of Jesus were showing their true colors: They were not among those who believed in the cause against the Roman empire. Their hypocrisy was exposed.
Thus, the passage has nothing to do with the principle of the separation of Church and State. Much less does it mean absolute and unquestioning obedience to the civil rulers. But there is more: for a faithful Jew, everything actually belongs to God. The general theme of Jesus’ ministry was in fact the reign of God whose values are different from the values of the reign of Caesar. The rule of the empire meant the subjugation of the powerless. Jesus preached and lived a reign of God where even the poor would count.
The point is not to question the principle. We acknowledge we are better off today because the Church and the State belong to separate realms. What we are saying is that there is no connection between the passage and the principle.
Because of the principle, the State must respect religious freedom and cannot establish a state religion. Furthermore, the State cannot make religious belief a qualifying requirement for the exercise of political or civil rights. On the other hand, the Church has her own laws prohibiting her priests from joining partisan party politics. Priests cannot unduly interfere with the affairs of the State. But this does not mean that her priests would stop condemning disvalues like corruption, political dynasties, the use of power to suppress people. Preaching against corruption and promoting accountability and transparency are in consonance with the Gospel. But obviously, it has some ramifications in the realm of politics.
But mind you, this is also a call for the Church to be willing to be judged by the same standards by which she judges politics. When the Church preaches accountability, she is addressing herself and the State.