A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mt 17:22-27
As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee,Jesus said to them,“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”And they were overwhelmed with grief.When they came to Capernaum,the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said,“Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?”“Yes,” he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak,Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon?From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax?From their subjects or from foreigners?”When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him,“Then the subjects are exempt.But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.Give that to them for me and for you.”
REFLECTION
the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter
I wonder in the case of the Temple tax collectors, if they were waiting for Jesus to approach the temple for surely they knew, suspected or thought ill of Jesus that He was delinquent in paying taxes. He had just arrived in Capernaum when approached but Peter's quick "Yes" shows that the Lord did pay the taxes which at that time was two drachmas.
And how well Jesus answered with a miracle. Jesus was an itinerant teacher and He, therefore was poor, and had no money. He was not obliged to pay taxes because He was the Son of God, however, He fulfilled that which all the citizens did. He paid the taxes. But "wow" to how He did it, the first fish Peter caught had four drachmas, twice the amount owed.
We learn from Jesus to be honest. We learn that we need to be good citizens and follow the law. We should lead exemplary lives, holding on to the law of God while being good citizens of the world. We are to object when laws are unrighteous, immoral or go against God causing many to sin. Our duty as well is to know what is going on in our city, state or federal government. Our lives involve both social and political sides, so if our taxes are used for evil, we must object and take a solid stand against them.
God will be extremely generous to us as we do His will and navigate through the difficulties that the world entails.
The Saint of the Day
Edith Stein (1891-1942) was a Jewish convert to Catholicism after reading the autobiography of St Teresa of Avila. She earned her doctorate of philosophy and later entered the Carmelite order. She took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. The Nazis retaliated against Dutch Jews who converted and she and her sister were arrested at the Carmelite convent. They died in Auschwitz.
She was a woman of integrity and followed the truth wherever it took her.
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