If life is a training ground for the afterlife, then political involvement is not contrary to who we are as Christians. The word politics is derived from the Greek word for “city”, the “polis”. Thus, politics makes us all citizens of both the City of Man and the City of God. Hence, the art or science or skills of social manoeuvring runs through our blood and all the way to heaven. It just means we are active in the world as good citizens and we participate in transforming the society of which we belong to one so that it can reflect the city of heaven.
In today’s Gospel, we catch a glimpse of the sad truth of politics, the type which makes people shy away. Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees and the Herodians reflects the saying that politics is “dirty”. In this scenario, the Pharisees simply hate the Romans because they are foreign occupiers. No religious purist wants to be lorded over by pagans or unbelievers. Just like this country where race is such an important marker that it is next to impossible to fathom a person from a minority race ever becoming the PM. Secondly, the Herodians, as their name suggests, are whom people would label as collaborators since Herod was a puppet of the Roman powers. Again, just like this country. A person from the majority race mixing with those of the minority race runs the risk of being labelled as a traitor.
These two groups occupy opposite poles of the political spectrum, one abhorring the Romans and the other complicit in facilitating the foreign occupation of the Holy Land. But because they both wanted to set Jesus up, they were willing to collaborate. The familiar quote that “Politics makes strange bedfellows” rings true here. Ironically though, the Pharisees and the Herodians used the controversial subject matter which divided them in the first place. Regarding taxation, the Pharisees were opposed to it whereas the Herodians were supportive of it. Should one pay taxes or not?
Jesus not only managed to evade their trap but He also exposed the Pharisees hypocrisy by asking for a non-kosher or non-halal instrument of exchange: the currency issued by the authority they dislike. Moreover, the coin provided would have changed hands many times over before reaching the ritually pure Pharisee. It is like touching money that went through the hands of a pork-seller or in our case, or a syariah-compliant government taxing a casino or alcohol sellers.
Politics may be dirty but a remark of St Teresa of Avila is helpful. She said that “Money may be the devil’s excreta but it is certainly a good fertiliser”. Here, Jesus did not condemn money per se but used it as a teaching moment to help us situate where we are in relation to the world and to God. His response cut through the messiness of politics.
We are in the world but not of the world. This is an important distinction. What unites these two worlds is the word holy. All the more we should strenuously be part of the political process in order to sanctify our temporal realm. Called to holiness, we infuse the world with our sanctity. However, being in this world is not a naive accommodation because of its fallen nature. As such we are in the world but not of the world.
Why?
Right after creation, some angels led by Satan and overcame by pride, turned against God. These beings forgot their place in the order of creation and had no desire to acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Satan and his minions have been striving to disrupt created order as they did with Adam and Eve. In the case of the Gospels, even though they are beautiful chronicles of our redemption, they can also be read as accounts of Satan’s attempt to obstruct our salvation. Unwittingly, both Pharisees and Herodians, became pawns of Satan, in their united attempt to trap Jesus.
Christ’s instruction to give to Caesar what belongs to him and to God what belongs to Him prioritises how a Christian is to engage the world. In fact, when Christ referred to the image of the coin, even though, it bore the imprint of Caesar, it was a powerful reminder of Whose image we all have been created under: God’s image. Politics, as in every order of created reality, bears the scourge of fallen nature. However, to run away from politics is not the solution. Instead, our participation in the political process will always be a struggle to sanctify the world so that it can resemble the final destination that we have been invited to.
Can we change the world? Yes, we can and we should. In this endeavour we are in line with the “Globalists” who want to make the world a better place. But we are not globalists because we do not mistake the city of man for the City of God. Whatever we do, we recognise this world for what it is—fallen, redeemed but still a temporal and passing realm. Whereas the other world is eternal. Thus, we do within our power all we can to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to Him.
This ties in with today being Mission Sunday. It is true that preaching to tired believers is infinitely more difficult than to non-believers. Take a look at Europe’s tired Christians on the way to being de-Christianised. In a way our mission in a multi-religious society is cut out for us. Cyrus in the 1st Reading teaches us that God continues to work in the world, no matter how rough the political terrain is or how “dirty” politics comes across to us. It is precisely in such troubled situations that we recognise that the ultimate Saviour is the Lord Himself. Our weekly adoration expresses this recognition. The knowledge that God is always in control gives the Christian his or her encouragement to continue to labour in this world. In the end, while we render to Caesar our due, it is to ultimately to Him that we must render an account of our lives here on earth.
