Homily – Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Flip a coin.  Heads or tails?”  The last time I flipped a coin, Queen Elizabeth II’s head was still on one side.  On the other side, the tails featured an Australian native animal, such as a kangaroo or a platypus, with the exception of the two-dollar coin depicting an Indigenous Australian elder.

In this episode of Matthew’s Gospel, a coin becomes the centre of a trap set for Jesus.  His opponents ask, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”  It is seemingly a simple question, but either answer could put Jesus in trouble.  If he approves, he risks losing support from the Jews who resent Roman occupation.  If he rejects, he will be accused of rebellion against the Roman authorities.  It appears that Jesus can only answer with the flip of a coin.  Jesus with wit and precision responds, “give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  Jesus’s clever response is an invitation for us to reflect on the relationship between our earthly responsibilities and our ultimate belonging to God.

The Church Fathers saw a deeper spiritual meaning in the image on the coin – linking Caesar’s image stamped on the coin to the image of God imprinted on the human person, male or female.  Every human being, regardless of background, status or circumstance, bears the image of God.  Our dignity is a gift rooted in the very act of our creation.

We live in the material world, belonging to families, workplaces, communities and nations.  We have responsibilities as citizens and a duty to contribute to the common good.  Jesus does not dismiss these obligations but reminds us that our earthly responsibilities must also be understood in the light of our relationship with God.

First and foremost, Jesus reminds us that we belong to God.  Everything we have, including our lives, our gifts and our opportunities, is received from him.  Recognising this truth changes how we live, how we treat others and how we use what has been entrusted to us.  The danger arises when we give earthly powers, possessions or ambitions a place that belongs to God alone.  Wealth, status, political authority and even our own desires can become the centre of our lives.  When this happens, we risk forgetting who we are, whom we belong and ultimately what we are made for.

Each of us carries the image of the Creator.  Let us live each day mindful of this sacred belonging, giving to the world what is rightfully due while offering to God what has always belonged to him.

By Fr Ian Vergel