“Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.”
Portrait of Sir Thomas More, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527, public domain
A Man For All Seasons
The 1966 movie, “A Man For all Seasons,” is one of the most acclaimed films of all time. It garnered a host of awards including six academy awards for, among others, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.
The film is a study of the tension between King Henry VIII of England and his chancellor, Thomas More, at a time when Henry was breaking with the Catholic Church.
The break was not due to idealogical differences, but rather, to politics. Henry wanted to divorce his wife in order to remarry and secure an heir to the throne. But the Church does not recognize divorce and the pope would not allow a dispensation.
Henry's solution was to break with Rome and declare himself supreme head of the Church in England. Thomas More refused to sign the act that made this law. This was not defiance but, as More maintained, it was silence. And it is his silence upon which hangs the tension of the story.
Eventually More is brought to trial for treason. After a sham trial he was sentenced to be executed. His last words before falling to the headsman's axe are among the most memorable of any film.
“I am commanded by the King to be brief, and since I am the King's obedient subject, brief I will be. I die His Majesty's good servant, but God's first.”
Saint Thomas More has become a patron for all those put in the position of choosing between Church and State.
"Our natural business lies in escape"
The question put to Jesus in today’s Gospel was not a question He was expected to answer. In the minds of the Pharisees and Herodians, there was no correct answer. The Pharisees were opposed to the tax while the Herodians favored it. In their narrow political view of the world, either answer would trap Jesus and make Him an enemy of one side or the other.
But Jesus elevates the question from one of simple politics to one of justice.
“Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.” The original Greek text could be paraphrased as “pay back to Caesar what you owe Caesar and to God what you owe God.”
But what happens when what Caesar demands of us, conflicts with what God wants of us? Saint Thomas Moore had one answer. But man is endlessly inventive in his ability to reconcile two seemingly incompatible principles.
During the Communist regime in the Soviet Union, the government recognized no authority greater than the State. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) was officially an atheistic government. Churches were shut down, priests were exiled, and the few churches that were permitted to remain open did so under heavy restrictions.
Any kind of work that supported the Church was strictly forbidden. This included the painting of liturgical art.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, liturgical art, known more commonly as “icons,” is an essential part of their places of worship. Each church must have an iconostasis, a screen painted with icons, separating the main body of the church from the altar and the “Holy of Holies.” But under Soviet rule the painting, restoring, or repairing of such a screen was a crime punishable by imprisonment or worse.
One of the the greatest failures of Socialism and its natural end of Communism, is its inability to extinguish the faith of the people it governs. The history of the U.S.S.R. is filled with countless stories of the common people subverting, getting around, and overcoming the laws and restrictions designed to eliminate cultures that are thousands of years old.
For a number of years I studied under a master iconographer, an émigré from the Soviet Union. He was from the village of Palekh. Palekh is a village of artisans and artists. They were originally known for their skill in painting liturgical art. When this activity was criminalized, they used those same painting techniques to produce the jewell-like lacquer boxes for which they are now famous.
But in finding a new outlet for their skills, they did not abandon the Church. My instructor would tell me of many nights spent inside churches, painting by lamplight. The windows of the building were blacked out so the officials would not discover them. Under the cover of darkness, in silence, they continued to give back to God that which was His due.
The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is now a stunning example of the iconography of the artists of Palekh.
We owe the government, through the taxes we pay, for certain duties and tasks it performs for the common good. But what do we owe God who has given us everything? And how to we repay this debt?
The answer Jesus gave changed the world. No longer was blind obedience to civil authority enough. From that moment on, we have been expected to render unto Caesar only up to the point that by doing so does not conflict with our rendering unto God.
Under the banner of tolerance and fairness, the secular world grows ever more hostile towards Catholic beliefs. There are growing efforts to label the Holy Bible as “hate speech.” There are already places in the world where preaching the Gospel can end with the preacher's imprisonment. We may very well one day be faced with choosing between God and Caesar. Should it come to that, let us pray for the grace that will help us make the right choice.
Pax Vobiscum
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Maid of Orleans, © Lawrence Klimecki
Pontifex University is an online university offering a Master’s Degree in Sacred Arts. For more information visit the website at www.pontifex.university
Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith and the spiritual “hero’s journey” that is part of every person’s life. He maintains a blog at www.DeaconLawrence.org and can be reached at Lawrence@deaconlawrence.com
Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary visions of sacred art. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org
Purchase fine art prints of Deacon Lawrence’s work here.
