Caesar or Christ

 

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 31; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

“We have no king but Caesar.”
John 19:15

The Church places the words above on our lips as we read the Passion narrative.  We- the “crowd”- call for the crucifixion of Jesus and then place our allegiance with Caesar rather than with Christ.  I always find it very sobering when we read this portion every Good Friday.

What does it mean to choose Caesar over Christ?  Does there need to be such a stark dichotomy?  Can’t we serve both Caesar and Christ?

In the days of the Roman Empire the Caesar was often given divine status.  Allegiance to him meant more than mere loyalty, respect, or patriotism.  It had that of the religious sense about it.  Christians often found themselves in conflict here.  They could obey Caesar as far as their faith allowed, but they could not pledge allegiance to him.  It was either Caesar or Christ, but not both.  As Jesus taught, “No one can serve two masters,” [Matthew 6:24].  We serve Caesar when we grant varying elements of this world the status that belongs to God alone.

When we place all our hope and trust in government we have no king but Caesar.  Many are putting all their efforts into the political arena.  The Church’s role is to inform politics, not become aligned with politicians or political parties.  To the right we applaud a pro-life, pro-family ethic.  But we advocate for better policies regarding immigration and capital punishment.  To the left we applaud the championing of the working class but we resist all efforts that oppose life, such as abortion, euthanasia, or assisted suicide.

When we place our hope in money and material possessions we have no king but Caesar.  Such things are to be used, not the least of which is for the kingdom and the glory of God.  We regularly fool ourselves.  Ignoring Christ’s words to the rich ruler, we think that we can grow rich in this world and still inherit the kingdom.  True, one could do that- if one was generous with the riches.  But when we heap our goods on ourselves and use our resources only for us we are fooling ourselves if we think we are His disciples.  Our possessions rule us, no matter what we say. 

When we yearn to spend our time in the endless pursuit of pleasure we have no king but Caesar.  It isn’t that God is against us having fun or relaxing, but He is opposed to us always doing so.  Entertainment is a multi-billion dollar industry because too many of us put our priority there. 

On this day when we see our Lord carrying a cross and dying an utterly agonizing and humiliating death on our behalf let us think of the contrast.  If Christ is to be our king it means a cross in this present world.  It means death to the things we’ve mentioned above.  But…

If Christ is to be king it means true peace, joy, and love.  It means the satisfaction of the soul as we find all the things we innately crave.  Why is Jesus enduring such agony?  Because it is the only means to bring us what we truly need- union with Him.

St. Paul wrote, “Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world,” [Galatians 6:14].  As we consider the contrast between Caesar and Christ today may we be able to say the same.