29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 · Psalm 96 · 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b · Matthew 22:15-21
A few people want to set a trap for Jesus. They are disciples of the Pharisees and supporters of Herod, two groups who otherwise have little to say to each other. Before they ask their question, they praise him: Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth, and you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Then comes the question: is it lawful to pay the tax to Caesar or not?
It is poisoned praise. Someone praised like that can hardly dodge any more; he has just been told that he is not concerned with anyone's opinion. And the question allows only two answers, both of which lose: if he says yes, he is on the side of the Roman occupiers; if he says no, he has called for revolt.
Jesus does not answer yes or no. He says: show me the coin that pays the tax. They hand him a denarius. Whose image is this and whose inscription, he asks, and they answer: Caesar's. So they have the coin with them, with the very image their question is about. A question of principle has become a concrete one, and they have given the answer themselves.
Both are familiar from everyday life. The praise usually comes just before the request: you're the only one here who really understands numbers, could you take a look at this by tomorrow? Whoever hears that can hardly say no without turning down the compliment. And the question of principle comes up in the meeting when things get delicate: so are you for or against the new model? Whoever answers is in a camp. Whoever asks instead how it actually went last week brings the group back to the same table, and sometimes the big question answers itself along the way.
At the end Jesus says: then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
In the second reading someone gives thanks. Paul is writing to the community in Thessalonica, the oldest text of the New Testament: we keep calling to mind your work of faith, your labour of love and your endurance in hope. No request follows these thanks.
This is a reading aid, not a second full version. Zugemutet reads the four texts of the Catholic lectionary each Sunday for what they say about living together. The texts are given; I listen for what comes across.