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Render to God What Is God's
Where We Are
Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time. The evangelist Mark continues to show us the confrontations between Jesus and the religious authorities during his final week in Jerusalem. Yesterday's parable of the wicked tenants stung the chief priests. Today, they regroup and send Pharisees and Herodians together, an unlikely alliance of enemies united only by their opposition to Jesus, to trap him with a loaded political question about paying taxes to Caesar.
The Word
The Pharisees and Herodians approach Jesus with flattery designed to lower his guard: "Teacher, we know that you are truthful." Then they spring the trap: "Is it lawful to give the tribute to Caesar, or should we not give it?" If Jesus says yes, he alienates the Jewish crowd who despise Roman taxation. If he says no, he can be reported to the Romans as a rebel. Jesus asks for a coin: "Whose image and inscription is this?" "Caesar's." "Then render to Caesar, the things that are of Caesar; and to God, the things that are of God" (Mark 12:17).
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Reflect
Jesus's answer is often reduced to a simple division: pay your taxes and also give to God. But something deeper is at work. The coin bears Caesar's image. But what bears God's image? We do. Genesis 1:27 tells us that humanity is made in the image and likeness of God. If the coin belongs to Caesar because it carries his image, then we belong to God because we carry his.
"Render to God the things that are of God" is not merely about tithing or religious obligations. It is about giving God your whole self, because your whole self bears his image. Every breath, every thought, every act of love is stamped with the divine likeness. We do not just owe God a portion of our income; we owe him everything, because everything we are comes from him.
The trap fails because Jesus reframes the question entirely. The Pharisees wanted a political answer; Jesus gives a theological one. He does not resolve the tension between earthly authority and divine authority; he subordinates the first to the second. Pay the tax; it is only money. But do not forget whose image you truly bear.
Second Peter urges us to supplement our faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, and godliness. These are the ways we "render to God" what is God's: by becoming more fully the image-bearers we were created to be.
Living It
Look in the mirror today and remember: you bear the image of God. That is your deepest identity, not your job title, not your bank balance, not your social media profile. Live from that identity today.
When faced with competing loyalties, whether at work, in politics, or in relationships, ask: "What belongs to God in this situation?" Let divine priorities guide your earthly decisions.
Practice rendering to God one thing that you have been withholding: your time, your trust, your worry. Hand it over, as you would hand back a coin that was never really yours.
Prayer
Lord God, we bear your image. Everything we are belongs to you. When the world demands our loyalty, remind us that we were made for you. Help us render to Caesar what is his, but never forget that we belong to you alone. May our lives reflect the image in which we were created. Amen.
Today's reflection draws from Mark 12:13-17 and 2 Peter 3:12-15, 17-18 (CPDV), per the Ordo Lectionum Missae.
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