On Being As Wise As Snakes and Innocent As Doves

In Matthew's gospel, the Pharisees approach Jesus and ask him whether or not it is right to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus responds by referring to Caesar Augustus' face on a coin and telling the Pharisees that we should give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.

On the surface, this is a dialogue about how Jewish persons in Jesus' time should relate to the Roman state. But in actuality, the Pharisees' motivation in asking the question is not to have such a discussion or because they are truly interested in Jesus' answer. The Pharisees are asking a question that is full of figurative minefields--if Jesus answers in a way that sounds disloyal to Rome, the Pharisees can pass along Jesus' response to the Roman authorities and ask that he be punished. If Jesus answers in a way that sounds loyal to Rome, the Pharisees will publicize this to the people, in the hopes of diminishing Jesus' influence with the general public.

Jesus' response is really a non response. Jesus' answer does not expressly define what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God. The subtext in Jesus' response is clear: I know why you are really asking the question, so I am going to answer in a way that doesn't give you what you want; ammunition to take either to Rome or to the people, depending upon the response.

Jesus lived in confusing, scary, violent times, like our own. In fact, Jesus told the disciples that they were being sent out as "sheep amidst the wolves." In this environment, Jesus said that they disciples needed to be as "wise as snakes and as innocent as doves." Only by combining both wisdom and innocence could the disciples be the kind of people that could reveal God's Kingdom and faithfully proclaim the good news.

Today the United Methodist Church, like other mainline churches, focuses a lot on the "dove" side of the formula, but doesn't say much about the "snake" side. Being God's people requires both innocence and shrewdness. Innocence without shrewdness creates a community of very nice people who do nothing but sing hymns while the world outside the Church destroys itself. Holiness requires both wisdom and innocence. As always, our model is Jesus.