Sunday, October 16, 2011

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 22:21

The notion of the separation of Church and state is a most hallowed doctrine in this country. Such separation has served to guarantee Americans freedom of religion for the past 200 years. This has become a hotly disputed topic, however, in today’s Republican primaries with one major candidate publicly invoking his Christian beliefs; while another candidate is being publicly condemn for his Mormon beliefs. It is obvious that this kind of religious bickering for political purposes violates the doctrine of the separation of Church and state in this country.

The Bible insists that religion must mingle with the everyday lives we lead. Justice is a virtue and so it has a high place in religious teaching. But, it is also the foundation of any system of government and so belongs to the state, as well. The same is true of virtues like honesty, compassion, respect for others, and integrity. These spiritual and moral values which are found in religious denominations contribute to the welfare of the state for they contribute to the betterment of the individual citizens.

Jesus’ statement in today’s scripture about the rights of the state (Caesar) and the rights of God does not divide reality into two separate spheres. There is only one reality, but it has many facets. There are many religious traditions as there are many political traditions in modern society, yet they need not be mutually exclusive; they can exist harmoniously. This is why Jesus asks us to render to each responsibly; to respect both the law of and land and the law of God equally.

By saying that we must “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” Jesus stresses the need to fulfill our obligations to each other in the political and social world. By asserting that we must “give to God what is God’s” Jesus emphasizes our spiritual and moral obligations which can only be satisfied by being faithful to our conscience and our religious tenets. Involvement in the political life of society and involvement in the life of the Church go hand in hand. You cannot have a good society without good people, and you cannot make a good Christian or a good Mormon out of a bad citizen.

It is not easy to be a member of the Church in today’s society. As Church, we are called to give both the state and God what is theirs. But the Gospel does not give us a simple answer. Discovering what society needs, and realizing what God deserves can only happen with hard work. Jesus gives us the general rule in Matthew 22 with regard to our responsibility toward Church and state, but he does not address the specifics or the details which are always changing.

Being a good Christian in our world requires a life of decision-making, a life of learning. But such, after all, is the life of any human being of good will who longs for fulfillment in his or her life.

The kingdom of God can only be built up by people who render to the state what belongs to the state, and to God what belongs to God.

Fr. Hugh Duffy