Giving to God: People who opposed Jesus and his message are trying to entrap him. This is the first of three exchanges between the Jewish leaders and Jesus. The lesson begins with them buttering Jesus up, and then asking a question they thought would show that he was speaking out against the government so he would get arrested. However, Jesus does not fall for it and calls them to the test instead.

In Jesus’ time, you had to pay taxes with a coin that had the image of the Emperor Caesar on it and an inscription that read “Tiberius Caesar, August son of the divine Augustus, high priest.” The Jewish community saw this as offensive because it was saying that the Emperor was a high priest.

 Jesus does not divide the world into two equal realms, clearly defining the boundaries between our obligations to Caesar and our obligations to God. Rather, his answer acknowledges our obligation to the state, but affirms our larger obligation to God. What bears the image of God? (Human beings, creation, our gifts and talents, etc.) How do we give to God the things that are God’s today?

Prayer: Almighty and Everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.