(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
Perhaps you have seen or actually have a bracelet with the lettering WWJD. What Would Jesus Do? The Gospels were written with the principle, WWJD, What Would Jesus Do? IN other words, sometimes the stories or sayings of Jesus come from the lived experience of Jesus during his public life and sometimes they come from the lived experience of Jesus in the Christian community of the Gospel writer.
Today’s story could have come from an incident in the life of Jesus on earth. In this case it is like the one about the image of Caesar. Does Jesus have to pay taxes or did he pay taxes, which could support the regime of Roman imperialism? It could also refer to a tax for the support of the Jewish Temple. In which case it could refer to actual life of Jesus. It could also come from a later Christian community, which experienced Jesus’ presence in the ups and downs of its community life. In this case it could refer to an imperial drive to build a temple to Jupiter on the Capitoline hill in Rome, which Jewish people and Christian people would fine repugnant. It could also refer to a collection for the Jewish people living in Jamnia, who were in great need.
In other words, we do not know all the particulars of this tax. We do know a lot about Jesus’ advice about the matter. Jesus said, “So as not to offend them (that is, cause scandal), go fish up a fish for money to pay the tax for you and for me.”
In our day, our taxes, supposedly, enable the government provide services to everybody in some manner of equality. Sometimes the taxes also support things we do not like, such as war or abortion, we pay them anyway for the common good, “so that we do not offend them”.