29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Listen to this homily on audio.
It was September 12th, 1960. The nation was in the midst of the Cold War. Yet, for American Catholics this was a time of hope and progress. Catholics in the United States were for the first time rising from the status as a marginalized minority group into the mainstream of society. In almost every sector of society, they were gaining power and influence that could never afore have been dreamed of.
The greatest example of this was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. This handsome young war hero with the beautiful wife was running for the presidency of the United States. Despite the enormous strides which had been made by Catholics to overcome prejudice and stereotypes, many Protestants still had concerns about a “Catholic President”. The openly wondered, “Would this man have his first allegiance to the Pope or the Country and Constitution?”
Two consciences
John Kennedy and his team attempted to allay these fear by facing them head-on. On September 12th 1960, he gave a speech within the Bible belt in Houston Texas to a group of influential Protestant ministers. JFK said, “Whatever issue may come before me as president.” “I will make my decision . . . in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates.” Basically, he was saying that he would as president have two consciences: a secular one and a private Catholic one.
This speech, which became very popular, was a turning point for Kennedy in the election. He would go on to win the presidency, becoming the first Catholic president and one of the most popular leaders of our time. However, this speech was and is not without its critics.
Archbishop Chaput (2010) and others have pointed to this as a turning point in religious freedom and practice in the United States. The seeming “compromise” put the average Christian in a position in which they are encouraged or even pressured to put on a mask in public while believing and living different in private. This is what hypocrite means. The word comes from the Greek hupokrités; like a performer acting under a mask (i.e. a theater-actor).
Obey legitimate authority
We see in the first reading that all authority comes from God. King Cyrus is told through the prophet that, “I have called you by name and given you a title through you knew me not.” The meaning of this is clear: all kings, princes, leaders, and presidents are allowed or ordained to be in the position by God who controls all things. We as Catholic Christians must obey all legitimate authority as long as the laws do not contradict our well-formed Catholic conscience. In fact, we have an obligation according the 4th Commandment to support, respect, and obey all legitimate authority. It would be sinful to not respect and obey the President or authority in cases which do not violate our faith or morals.
However, this honoring of the office is not the same as having two faces. In many ways, Catholics today are at times pressured to have one face as a Christian while at Church or in private, but a different one a work or in public. Jesus clearly says in the Gospel today that we to “repay to Caesar (human authority)” what belongs to them by obeying and respecting them. But, we “repay to God what belongs to God.” Freedom of Religion, which we are given in the 1st Amendment, gives us the right to have one conscience in all sectors of society. We have the right to have one face in private and in public. No, we cannot force our religion upon anyone else, but we also have the right to live according a Catholic conscience at all times both private and public. True Christians have the same actions at home and in the workplace.
Personal, but not private
As Archbishop Chaput put it in 2010, “Real Christian faith is always personal but it’s never private.” We are called by our Baptism to live our faith and be a light to the world. This teaching comes from Christ Himself and is directed to all believers. This does not mean that we do not respect others’ freedom or disobey authority. Each person’s conscience is sacred and they have the right to hold their beliefs and live by them. But, for us as Catholic Christians we must “repay to God what belongs to God.” We have an obligation to put the Lord first in our private and public lives. To preach the Gospel at all times with our words and actions. To be a light to a world yearning for the Good News! This is to render to God what belongs to him.