WHOSE IMAGE DO YOU BEAR?

Have you ever looked at a photograph of yourself and wondered if it truly shows who you have become? The photo may show you smiling, but your heart may be carrying bitterness. You may be dressed beautifully for Sunday Mass, but during the week you speak harshly at home or treat someone unfairly at work. A photo shows our outward appearance; our daily life reveals whose image we truly bear.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is asked a trick question: “Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar?” He asks for the coin and says, “Whose image is this?” They answer, “Caesar’s.” Jesus replies, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

The coin bears Caesar’s image. But what bears God’s image? We do. “God created humankind in His own image” (Gen 1:27). As Tertullian, one of the earliest Fathers of the Church, said: “The image of Caesar is on the coin, the image of God is on man.” Our dignity does not come from wealth, education, or position. It comes from God. As St. Leo the Great said, “O Christian, recognize your dignity!”

This has consequences. When you look at your spouse, your children, the elderly person, the newcomer, or the difficult neighbour; you are looking at someone who bears God’s image. St. Augustine preached it so well: “Caesar seeks his image on the coin; God seeks His image in you.” We bow before the Blessed Sacrament. Do we show respect to the person beside us? We sing about God’s love. Do we make room for the lonely? If we honour God’s image in church, we must honour it in our neighbour.

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar” also reminds us to be responsible citizens. Our faith should be visible at work, at home, and in the community. As St. John Chrysostom taught: “As tribute is owed to Caesar, so holiness, virtue and almsgiving are owed to God.”

A Christian employee does honest work. A Christian business owner deals fairly. A Christian parent forms children in faith.

But Jesus adds, “And to God what belongs to God.” If the coin belongs to Caesar because it bears his image, our lives belong to God because we bear His image. St. Jerome summed it up perfectly: “We must render to Caesar the coin that bears his image, and to God the soul that bears His image.” Sometimes we give God only what is left over. Giving God what belongs to Him means putting Him at the centre — daily prayer, faithful Sunday Mass, Confession, choosing forgiveness, and raising our children to know God.

A mother once told me she was so busy caring for her family that prayer felt impossible. One evening her child asked, “Why do you tell me to pray when you are too busy to pray with me?” That question changed her. She started a simple 3-minute family prayer each night. Life did not become easier, but God now had a place at the centre of her home. As Origen reminds us, “We must not allow the light of God’s face stamped upon us to be darkened by sin.”

We give God glory when people encounter His goodness through us — in our patience at home, our integrity at work, and our kindness to neighbours. St. Athanasius tells us why this is possible: “Christ came to restore the image of God in us that was defaced by sin.” He restores the photo that sin ruined.

So as we leave church today:

Bear God’s image by respecting every person.

Live God’s values with honesty and love.

Give God your life — as Tertullian said — “Give money to Caesar, but give yourself to God.”