Who doesn’t love a good soup on a chilly fall day? Pair it with a freshly made biscuit and you’ve got a perfect autumn supper. I’m not sure who first thought to saute some pancetta, add onion, celery and garlic together, throw in some carrots, cabbage, spinach, diced tomatoes, spices, broth and call it a meal, but I’m grateful to that person. In fact, a quick Google search tells me that I can probably credit the Roman Empire with one of the more popular soups in our house: Italian minestrone.
In the Gospel reading for Oct. 22, Jesus says: “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” (Mt. 22:21) Technically, one could say minestrone soup belongs to Caesar. As in, the Roman Emperor Caesar. Apparently, minestrone was developed after the Romans conquered Italy and developed more sophisticated road systems, thereby introducing more and varied vegetable options to Italians. Since the origin of minestrone soup is a direct result of taxes being rendered to Caesar, it must be one of the things that falls into the “belongs to Caesar” category, which shouldn’t make it any less palatable. On the other hand, existentially speaking, soup is made up of God-given ingredients, so I guess that puts it back in the “belongs to God” column. But, seriously, what did Jesus mean when he said the above words?
When we give “unto Caesar” we are giving our proper share to uphold the common good, whether that be taxes or government fees, time spent working on civic-related issues, or even running for public office. Christians have a moral duty to be responsible citizens. We are called to obey laws, and participate in our political systems, insofar as they serve the good of all people. The Catechism of the Catholic Church spells this out clearly: “Every human community needs an authority to govern it. The foundation of such authority lies in human nature. It is necessary for the unity of the state. Its role is to ensure as far as possible the common good of the society” (CCC No. 1898).
While the Church teaches that we must submit to worldly authority, there is an important distinction to be made. “The authority required by the moral order derives from God” (CCC No. 1899). No political leader would hold public office unless God allowed it. That does not mean, however, that all politicians seek to serve God – far from it. So, what happens when those holding offices of authority have abandoned all recognition of God or moral absolutes? Do they still require our respect? What about our money?
Well, what kind of ruler was the Caesar of Jesus’ time? Obviously, he wasn’t Christian and didn’t adhere to a Judeo-Christian moral code, and yet, Jesus still said he was worthy of being obeyed. We do know the Christians benefitted from some Roman accomplishments, such as the improvement of the roads, which resulted in the more rapid spread of the faith in the early days of the Church. Taxes are a necessary part of life that should lead to benefits for all.
We can look around at some of our political leaders today and we might argue that these leaders are not worthy of our obedience. Certainly, the case could be made that some of their ordinances are unjust (like anti-life policies) and should be opposed. There used to be a priest in my diocese, the late Father Bernie A. MacDonald, who became well known for deducting from his taxes the amount he calculated that went toward publicly funded abortions. In doing so, he still rendered to the government what was due to them for just and moral use for the good of all people, but he also made known his unwillingness to participate in moral evil. In this situation, Father MacDonald was making the point that not everything for which “Caesar” asks is justified and that God’s law supersedes all others.
We have to keep in mind that Jesus also told us to give to God what is God’s, which pretty much includes everything and trumps all other dues. Human beings and every created thing on this earth belongs to him – all things should be at his service. We are obliged to support our fellow humans, and often that means giving our dues to the government so that we can all enjoy the amenities of a governed society, which might even lead to a delicious soup recipe, but should never deprive God of what is rightfully his.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, six children, and her mom. She can be reached at [email protected].