A few years ago, a television network news reporter interviewed a group of people about a federally funded mass-transit initiative that was intended to relieve congestion on the interstate highway that traversed the region where they lived.  The interviewees were adamant in their objection to the mass-transit initiative.   

When the interviewer asked the reason behind their opposition to the project, they responded, “We don’t like that.  We want to drive our cars!”  The interviewer pointed out that the purpose of the initiative was to allow residents an easier drive on the local interstate highway by alleviating delays and traffic-jams.  The interviewees looked puzzled and reiterated that they wanted to be able to drive on the highway unimpeded.  The interviewer looked puzzled and concluded the interview. 

The obstructionist interviewees were very upset about a proposal that would have no negative impact on their lives; consequently, their objection and their disturbed state of mind were utterly meaningless.  The Pharisees and Herodians in today’s Gospel reading made a similar choice. 

The Gospel tells us that the Pharisees and Herodians conspired together to trick Jesus into making a self-incriminating statement. (Mt 22:15)  They asked him, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” (Mt 22:17)  Their question, like the objection of those people opposed to the traffic improvement project, was entirely meaningless. 

In the ancient world, taxes were levied on conquered nations, but not on a nation’s citizens.  Judea was taxed annually by the Roman Empire; these taxes funded the Roman government and military.  Roman citizens, by contrast, paid no taxes.   

When the Pharisees and Herodians asked Jesus if he thought it was lawful to pay the census tax, they were asking about something they were forced to do.  Every person in every Roman-controlled area paid the annual tax; refusal to do so would have attracted unwanted attention from the nearest Legion in the Roman Army. 

The Pharisees and Herodians justified the rationale for their question on the basis of Jewish religious law.  They were asking Jesus whether he thought it was acceptable, under the kashrut laws, to handle coins that depicted the Roman Emperor as a god.  If he answered in the affirmative, the Pharisees intended to denounce him for affirming the divinity of Caesar.  If he answered in the negative, the Herodians intended to denounce him as a seditionist.  Both groups, however, conveniently ignored the fact that the Empire had already settled the question for them: all Judeans were required to pay the tax or suffer the consequences. 

The Pharisees wanted to appear extremely devout.  The Herodians wanted to appear extremely loyal to the Empire.  In fact, both groups appeared extremely delusional. The Pharisees complied with Roman Imperial requirements, e.g., taxes, but pretended that they were free to ignore those government mandates. The Herodians pretended that their complicity with the Roman Empire was good for the Judean people, even though the Roman government routinely persecuted Judeans. 

The Pharisees and Herodians went to great lengths to maintain fantasy-based assessments of their commitments and actions, but their pretending did them no good. In the end, their great efforts were entirely meaningless. 

The imagined worries that motivated these two groups prevented them from perceiving God’s presence. God is present in one’s interactions with other people and with the world. Perceiving that divine presence requires one first to be present to reality. An employee of a parish where I was assigned many years ago had a favorite saying about those who choose to be out of touch with others; she would say that “they’re not present on the planet.” The Pharisees and Herodians weren’t present on the planet because they had chosen instead to be present to their worries and self-concern. 

A common worry in our culture is about having a meaningful life. This worry doesn’t derive from actually possessing the object of the worry, namely, meaningfulness. On the contrary, worry about having a meaningful life can only result from not having meaning in one’s life. Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees and Herodians in today’s Gospel reading makes it easy to understand the cause of the condition of meaninglessness in one’s life. Meaninglessness in life results from the absence of presence to the world because the absence of presence to the world prevents one from experiencing God’s presence. 

This event in the Gospel teaches that, if one chooses to worry, one should choose to worry about the condition that merits worry. The condition that merits worry is lack of attention to God’s creatures and the associated lack of awareness of God’s presence. 

How, then, does one give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s? It’s easy. Fulfilling one’s social obligations requires only that one pays appropriate attention to the irreplaceable value of one’s manifold relationships. Do you appreciate having a legal system, a stable currency, safe travel, and the right to own property? If so, pay your taxes, vote, and don’t complain. Do you appreciate being surrounded by people who value and love you? If so, give them your full attention, and don’t let worry and self-concern distract you from the many blessings in your immediate environment. If you can do these things, you’ll have no worries about the meaning of your life because you’ll be living every moment in God’s presence.