JUNE22026

The responsibility we owe to God and the responsibility we owe to society have been in tension from the beginning. Jesus gives the short answer: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” — Caesar in this quote meaning the government. The challenge, of course, is to discern what truly belongs to Caesar. In a book several years ago the Jesuit author, David Knight, posed a thought experiment: what should a plumber at Auschwitz do? He realizes the shower he is installing is to for cleaning but for death. Can he just say “I’m just doing my job” and not worry about the consequences of his actions? Or take the ICE agents today. When they see that some of their practices have little to do with law enforcement but are meant to be cruel can they say “I’m just doing my job” and not think about it? Most of our choices are not that dramatic but the challenge of Jesus is to put God’s priority first.