In the Oct. 18 bulletin of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Belmont, Michigan, Father Tony Pelak tells the story of when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus is saying something seditious against the Romans.

“The common currency of that time was Roman, so naturally it had Caesar’s image stamped upon it,” Pelak wrote in the bulletin. “Since everyone in the empire at one point or another would have to use Roman money, the emperors used those coins as a way to impress upon the people the idea that the wealth and power of the empire was fully dependent and came from Caesar himself.”

Christians, however, believe “all of creation ultimately comes from God and that consequently each one of us is created in God’s image,” Pelak said in the bulletin. “Therefore, each of us has stamped within our soul the very image of our Creator.”

Rather than saying something seditious, Jesus replied to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s, Pelak wrote.

“We need to remember that how we choose to live out our Christian Faith is always visible to the secular world, and our actions always speak louder than our words,” Pelak wrote in the bulletin. “ Hopefully by the words we choose and the actions we perform others can know and see something of God’s very image shining forth from within.”