Dear Brothers and Sisters,

For believers of all religions living in the world there are many dilemmas. One of these is living in the structures of society.

In the Christian church the dynamic between church and state goes back as far as Christianity being adopted as the state religion of the later Roman Empire, this was not plan sailing and often this took the form of conflict between what the emperor saw as their legitimate authority and what priests and bishops saw as theirs. Sometimes, often, it played itself out in martyrdom and exile. For that matter Popes were not above humiliating secular rules when they got a chance too.

In this country it culminated in a violent separation in the 16^th century, when the king at the time, Henry VIII, took full control of the church in England. Our King, Charles III, is still the Supreme Governor of the Church of England; part of his oath taken at his coronation is still to defend its position as a church and in society. Elsewhere, for example, Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow seems to be hand in glove with President Putin. What are we to make of this?

All this points towards the near impossibility of church and state being too close to each other. Where this is attempted in any way compromises are made, either where the power of the state is concerned or where the power of the gospel is diluted.

Though at different times, and in different places, with difficult and sometimes horrendous consequences, the separation of the Catholic church from state structures makes it a free agent of the good news, enabling it to be faithful to the liberation of our hearts, minds and souls offered by Jesus through his life, death, and resurrection.

However, during his life on earth Jesus was also a pragmatist. In the fullness of his humanity he knew that there had to be an every day modus vivendi to make life possible. We see today how his enemies try to exploit this in this Sunday’s gospel. For them, though they tolerated Roman rule, their religion ultimately did not accept a secular ruler such as the emperor. There was one ruler – God alone. In the early days of their liberation from Egypt in fact they had no king, God himself was their King – the King – who travelled with them on their journey to the promised land. It was only later that they wanted a king to be like other nations. In a sense, in doing this, they rejected the Kingship of God.

But the Jew’s dislike of the idea of a secular ruler continued in one form or another. The currency they preferred to use was not that of the Romans, because it had the graven image of the emperor on it with a claim that the emperor was “son of god”, but coins locally made.

But this Sunday Jesus in a masterful way draws out the hypocrisy of their position by seemingly innocently asking for a coin. Though they publicly avoid Roman currency, surprise, surprise, one of his critics just so happens to have one on him. You can imagine the faces of the others who were there when their cover is blown! They seek to entrap Jesus whilst engaging in the same behaviour themselves.

But Jesus makes a deeper point. Firstly, it is God who is truly sovereign, our primary duty is always to return to God what we belongs to him. We belong to God; our destiny is to return to him, to be fully and wholly united to him in the life of the Trinity. That is the first duty of our lives here on earth. It is something that should inform every thought, word and deed.

Yes, we have a duty to be good citizens, Saint Paul and Saint Peter tell us this in their letters to us from the beginning of the Christian era. But we will encounter times when the state may make demands on our morals and ethics which cannot be squared with what society seems to demand of us. When we are faced with this, perhaps that familiar question is helpful, “what would Jesus do?”. Don’t be afraid to ask Jesus what to do, listen to His answer in your heart and respond. It may get you into trouble but will win you your life – eternal life.

Please accept an assurance of my daily prayers for your needs and intentions. 

God bless and keep you always.

Fr Chris