Give To God What Belongs to God

Giving to God What Belongs to God

Retired Pastor’s Column

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 18, 2026

One of the most moving parts of a funeral for me is when the American flag is draped over the casket as a symbol of the deceased’s service to our country. But as the casket is brought into the church, the American flag comes off and is replaced by the white pall, a fabric that covers the entire casket. The pall symbolizes the baptism by which the person first entered the Church; it also symbolizes our hope of entrance into eternal life.

I am old enough to remember President Kennedy’s funeral, although I was very young. His flag-draped casket was carried on a horse-drawn caisson to St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C.(The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was not yet completed at that time). The flag remained on his casket during the Mass, as was the practice at the time. Today, however, even at the funeral of a president, the flag would be replaced by the white pall, a reminder that our identity as Christians transcends every earthly distinction.

The image thus evokes a change of citizenship. Actually, I think we retain something of a dual citizenship even in the next life, in the sense that we do not fully lose what we were or where we came from. For example, we will always have been Americans. Who we are, including our personalities (perfected in Christ), comes with us, too.

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 22:15–21), Jesus is embroiled in a very real controversy: paying taxes! Specifically, if a coin bears the image of an emperor who claims divine honors, can a Jew use that coin in good conscience?

We do not, of course, have this particular dilemma, but our culture surrounds us with other “false gods” clamoring for our attention. Can I use my eyes to watch pornography and still see God in creation? How much does God want me to give to St. Edward’s or to hurricane victims, for example? Which media source will I trust to give me accurate moral information? What kinds of television programs will I allow my family to watch?

We are all in the process of becoming something, of becoming someone. Each choice we make, whether for Caesar or for God, helps form the person we will be in eternity. By Caesar, we do not mean that we should avoid interacting with the world, but rather that we should not allow ourselves to be formed by the world. Instead, we are to be formed by the image of Christ growing within us, not by the image of the world, which is passing away.

These are just a few of the daily decisions we must make as we discern what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God. Even now, we enjoy “dual citizenship” by virtue of our baptism, and so we must always keep this in mind as we go about our lives.

Whose image are we allowing to be formed within us?

Father Gary