Reflection for Sunday 18th October, 2026

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Religion and Politics (Matt 22:15-21)

In today’s Gospel, the enemies of Jesus try to trap him in the political minefield of paying taxes to the Romans. “Is it permissible to pay taxes to the Romans or not?” If he opposes paying taxes, the Romans will take a political case against him in the civil court. But if he is in favour of paying taxes to the Romans, he will lose all popular support. It looks like a no-win situation.

A dishonest alliance

The alliance of Pharisees and Herodians, traditional enemies, was a dishonest, hypocritical partnership. Pharisees were determined to maintain total separation from all foreign culture, while the Herodians owed their power through wheeling and dealing with the Romans. Normally Pharisees and Herodians would be at loggerheads with each other. Notice their hypocrisy in calling Jesus an honest man. Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and cleverly turned the question back on those who asked it. Instead of saying yes or no, he suggested that they had the answer in their own pockets.

The true ideal of politics is the promotion of social good in society and this ideal is strengthened by the vision of community and shared responsibility offered by religion.

“Let me see the money you pay the taxes with. Whose head is this? Whose name?” The head was an image of Tiberius Caesar, known as Son of the Divine Augustus. Divine Augustus! This was a double whammy for the Pharisees who were adamant about not worshipping images and certainly not any politically appointed god. If you have Roman money, if you avail of their great engineering projects, their roads and bridges, their aqueducts and water cisterns, do you expect to get it all without taxation? Pay back to Caesar what you get from belonging to the Empire. Then Jesus adds the punchline. “Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.”

Collaboration not Separation

Total separation of politics and religion is not feasible because we have dual citizenship, of earth and of heaven. Secularism denies our responsibilities towards God: selfcentred piety reneges on earthly and social responsibilities. Religion and politics live in holy harmony in the person who is fully responsive to God and to society. What is required is not the separation of religion and politics but their collaboration. Politics without principles is destructive, whereas religion without social action is not serving the kingdom of God.

Catholic Social Teaching

The name Catholic literally means all-embracing. Ever since the famous Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum (1890), the Catholic Church has been a strong voice advocating social ideals such as peace, justice, workers’ rights, the duties of employers, access to education and medical care, a fair distribution of wealth, and respect for life from womb to tomb. The new Pope, in taking the name Leo XIV, let the world know that Christianity is not restricted to the sanctuary. His first Encyclical was “On Safeguarding The Human Person In The Times Of Artificial Intelligence.” He condemns the death penalty and the use of nuclear weapons even as a deterrent. The weapons of war today are so much more powerful than those of the past that, like Pope Francis, he holds that there is no such thing as a just war nowadays.

The Kingdom of God

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus Christ proclaimed the purpose of his mission as the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the world. He established the Church as a community of workers for this Kingdom. It comes as no surprise that in the aftermath of two World Wars, the six leaders who formed the cell which grew to become the European Union, were six Catholics. The true ideal of politics is the promotion of social good in society and this ideal is strengthened by the vision of community and shared responsibility offered by religion. What is required is not the separation of politics and religion but their collaboration. “Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.”