Gospel Reflection on Matthew 22:15-21
October 18, 2026
Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle him in his talk. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Hero′di-ans, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax." And they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
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The word religion comes from the Latin ligare, think 'ligature', 'meaning to tie', 'bind together.' Religion usually describes a variety of ways we're connected to a higher power, the shared rituals, the system of values, stories we hold in common. All these form our religion; and usually this describes a spiritual community, Christianity, Judaism, Islam. Traditional religions bound people to a shared community for a transcendent purpose.
But that's changed. Today, modern consumer culture uses brands, shopping malls, lifestyle identities to offer people a sense of belonging and connection; shopping on Amazon Prime Day, brand loyalties, names like Apple, Nike, copy religious devotion. Compete with holy places like the mall, sacred objects, and evangelism. All the ads that bombard us are like a new hymnal. People use brands to signal who they are, to answer questions about self-worth, and find emotional comfort or community, especially when our ties to traditional religion fade.
True religion anchors people to an ultimate concern, something transcendent and enduring. The consumer world in which we live thrives on perpetual dissatisfaction, keeping people restless. and hungry for the next purchase rather than being truly fulfilled or bound by deep moral obligation. Consumerism offers loose, shifting identity groups. The social media lacks the deep self-sacrificing commitment and accountability that classic religious traditions demand.
And one other touchstone: the sacred or the holy has an element of surprise for us. The holy is "holy other" which comes upon us suddenly and unexpectedly, which the shopping mall does not. As humans, we don't possess a full knowledge of where this holiness comes from, because it's separated from us and from our world. And so are God's demands, unexpected, as well as God's delights.
But we can twist religion and make it a kind of emotional soother. We can participate in religious activity because it makes us feel safe and secure. or we can live our faith because it makes us feel better than our neighbor. That's what Catholicism was like in the 50s, and I worry that maybe it's making a comeback in some places, and what Zionism and radical Islam have become today. When faith is reduced to legalistic rules, intellectual assent to precise formulas and belonging systems, it's being instrumentalized to provide false security. We corrupt our faith when we try to make it into an idol of certainty. In this state, people love their understanding of faith more than they love God. When faith is instrumentalized, it shifts from an inner system of growth into a tool for tribalism and cultural exclusion.
The world is always trying to get a grip on our lives, our relationships, our affections. It wants to exploit the deepest things within us for its own motives. Money bears the image and inscription of this world and its rulers, but we carry within ourselves the image and likeness of God. The currencies that we use bear the images of worldly powers, but each one of us is made in the image and likeness of the Father.
The real question we have to ask is: what really belongs to this world and what really is owed to God? The Christian challenge in all situations is to free ourselves enough from the world so that we can give to the world what the world needs, our service, and to the Father what is already his, our hearts.
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