12th August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 17:22-27) ‘The sons are exempt’. (2024)

12th August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 17:22-27) ‘The sons are exempt’.

Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA)Matthew 17:22-27'They will put the Son of Man to death'.

One day when they were together in Galilee, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again.’ And a great sadness came over them.When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel came to Peter and said, ‘Does your master not pay the half-shekel?’ ‘Oh yes’ he replied, and went into the house. But before he could speak, Jesus said, ‘Simon, what is your opinion? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from foreigners?’ And when he replied, ‘From foreigners’, Jesus said, ‘Well then, the sons are exempt. However, so as not to offend these people, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that bites, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for you.’

Gospel (USA)Matthew 17:22-27They will kill him and he will be raised. The subjects are exempt from the tax.

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.”

Reflections (9)

(i) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The half-shekel tax was a tax that devout Jews sent to the Temple every year to support the cost of the Temple activities, especially the various sacrifices that were offered there. Jesus suggests that the new family he is forming about himself are free from paying this tax, ‘the sons (and daughters) are exempt’. The King of heaven does not tax members of God’s new family that Jesus is in the process of creating. However, Jesus goes on to say to Peter that even though they are exempt from paying this Temple tax, they should pay it anyway so as not to give unnecessary offense to those collecting the tax. In this case, consideration for others requires the disciples to renounce a legitimate freedom that they have. For Jesus, freedom is not the ultimate value above all others. Rather, love is the ultimate value, loving concern for the wellbeing of others. It is love of others that is to shape how we exercise our freedom. Out of consideration for others, it may be necessary to renounce a freedom that we have. Jesus is the supreme example of someone who gave up his freedom out of love for humanity. He had no freedom as he was nailed to the cross, but at that moment he was demonstrating God’s unconditional love for the world. This kind of radical freedom is what Saint Paul calls the freedom of the Spirit. ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (2 Cor 3:17). It is the Spirit who frees us to renounce our legitimate freedom when the good of others is at stake. The well-being of the stranger, the refugee, the asylum seeker, often requires that we renounce some freedom we possess. In doing so we are revealing the Lord’s self-emptying love.

And/Or

(ii) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

There are two parts to this morning’s gospel reading. In the first part Jesus announces his coming suffering and death. As a result, we are told, a great sadness came over the disciples. Sadness is the normal response when we are faced with the departure or the death of someone we love. We have all known that kind of sadness, the sadness that engulfs the disciples in today’s gospel reading. To some extent, we live with it all the time. Yet, we cannot allow such sadness to dominate us. We have to keep going in the strength the Lord gives us. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus and the disciples keep travelling on after this moment of harsh reality. Eventually they come to Capernaum, the home of Simon Peter. There, a strange little incident takes place. The half-shekel tax is the tax that every Jew in the time of Jesus paid annually towards the upkeep of the temple. On the one hand Jesus says that he and his followers are exempt from paying this tax, because Jesus himself is now the new temple. On the other hand, Jesus tells Peter to pay the tax so as not to offend the religious leaders. In other words, Jesus declares freedom in this regard but then recommends putting this freedom to one side for the moment so as not to give unnecessary offense. In that way Jesus reminds us that although we may be free in regard to certain matters, sometimes it can be right not to use our freedom when the good of others is at stake.

And/Or

(iii) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In the time of Jesus, every Jew, regardless of where they lived, had to pay an annual tax towards the expenses of the temple in Jerusalem. In this morning’s gospel reading, those who collect this tax approach Peter to ask whether or not Jesus intends paying this tax. Peter instinctively answers ‘Yes’. However, when Jesus is alone with his disciples, he puts a little parable to Peter which suggests that Jesus and his followers are not obliged to pay this tax. They are sons (and daughters) of God the Father in heaven and, sons, unlike slaves, are free. Jesus has a very different view about the payment of this Temple tax to those who collect the tax. Yet, even though in theory Jesus and his disciples should consider themselves free from the obligation of paying this tax, Jesus instructs Peter to go and pay this tax for both of them, so as to avoid giving unnecessary scandal or offence to others. This issue is not our issue but Jesus’ way of coming at it has still something to say to us today. Jesus implies that just because we are free to do something does not mean that it is right to do it. Freedom is a very important value, but the gospels suggest that the exercise of freedom has to be governed by higher values, such as the value of loving the other, being considerate of the other, avoiding giving unnecessary offence or scandal to the other. Jesus teaches us that sometimes we have to renounce our legitimate freedom when the well being of others is at stake. In the world of God’s kingdom proclaimed by Jesus the question, ‘What is my entitlement?’ becomes less important than the question, ‘How can I best serve others, including those who see things differently to me?’

And/Or

(iv) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel this morning centres on the payment of the half shekel tax. This was an annual tax that all Jews paid for the upkeep of the Temple in Jerusalem. The question is whether Jesus and his disciples were free from having to pay this tax. After all, Jesus had declared that ‘something greater than the Temple is here’. The ‘something greater’ was Jesus himself. He is the new Temple of God, the one in whom God is present. He is Immanuel, God-with-us. If he is the new Temple, then strictly speaking the tax to the old Temple in Jerusalem does not need to be paid. That is what Jesus means when he says, ‘the sons are exempt’, the sons being the sons of God’s kingdom, Jesus’ disciples. However, even though in theory Jesus and his disciples are free from having to pay the tax, Jesus declares that they should pay the tax so as to not to offend the Jewish tax collectors, so as to avoid giving scandal. The issue of the Temple tax is not our issue today, but the way Jesus deals with it can continue to speak to us. Jesus is declaring that just because we are legitimately free not to do something does not mean that we should not do it. Similarly, just because we are legitimately free to do something does not mean that we should do it. Freedom is not always the most important value for Jesus. The value of love is always more important in his eyes. Whatever promotes the well being of others always guides how we exercise our legitimate freedom. One expression of the love of others is not giving unnecessary offense or scandal.

And/Or

(v) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In the time and place of Jesus, people laboured under the burden of taxation. Perhaps that much has not changed! There were various taxes to be paid to the Roman authorities. There was also an annual half-shekel tax to be paid for the upkeep of the Temple in Jerusalem. In this morning’s gospel reading, those who were responsible for collecting this Temple tax were curious to know whether or not Jesus paid it. Peter assures them that he did. However, when Jesus had the opportunity to speak with Peter, he conveyed to him, in the words of the gospel reading, that ‘the sons are exempt’ from this tax. The ‘sons’ were the members of the new family that Jesus was gathering about himself. Yet, even though, Jesus no longer saw the Temple tax as obligatory for himself or his disciples, he instructs Peter to go and pay it, ‘so as not to offend these people’. Although Jesus was not afraid to offend people when something of consequence was at stake, he didn’t go out of his way to offend people when the issue was not so important, as in this instance of the Temple tax. There were issues on which he took a stand and other issues which he let go. We all have to learn to make that distinction. When are we called to stand and fight and when can we just let things be? We look to the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom to make that judgement.

And/Or

(vi) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading makes reference to the half-shekel tax. This was not a tax imposed by the Romans. Rather, it was a Jewish tax. Devout Jews paid the half-shekel tax to the Temple in Jerusalem every year to defray the costs of the sacrifices that were offered in the Temple. Peter is asked by the collectors of this tax whether his master, Jesus, paid it or not. They were testing Jesus’ credentials as a devout and orthodox Jew. Peter did not hesitate to say that Jesus did pay this annual tax. In the conversation that Jesus subsequently has with Peter, Jesus suggests that neither himself nor his disciples are bound to pay this tax. This seems to be the meaning of his statement, ‘the sons are exempt’. Jesus, of course, was the supreme Son of God, but his disciples were called to share in his relationship with God as Son and to that extent were sons and daughters of God. Even though ‘the sons are exempt’, Jesus instructs Peter to pay the tax for both of them, so as not to give an offence to the collectors of the half-shekel tax. Jesus suggests that just because we are free in relation to some matter does not mean it is always a good thing to exercise that freedom. Jesus implies that freedom is an important value but it is not an absolute value. There are other values which take precedence over the value of freedom, such as consideration for the sensitivities of others, or what we would call the value of self-emptying love of others. For Jesus and for the Christian tradition that flows from him, love, the primary fruit of the Holy Spirit, is a higher value than freedom. Such love of the other shapes how we give expression to our freedom. As Saint Paul puts it so succinctly, ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’.

And/Or

(vii) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Taxation has always been a contentious issue from ancient times until today. How much tax should we pay? Who should pay tax? In the time and place of Jesus, there were taxes due to Rome and there was also a religious tax due to the Temple in Jerusalem, the half-shekel tax. It is this religious tax that is the issue in today’s gospel reading. Jews paid this half-shekel tax to the Temple every year to defray the cost of the sacrifices that were offered there. Those who collected this tax come to Peter and ask him if Jesus pays it or not. They wanted to know whether Jesus behaved as a good Jew should in this matter. Peter answers ‘yes’, assuming that Jesus would fulfil this requirement of the Jewish Law. However, Jesus goes on to show that the situation is not quite as simple as Peter’s answer suggests. Jesus’ comment to Peter, ‘the sons are exempt’, suggests that the sons and daughters of God, those who call God ‘Abba’, Father, as Jesus does, are, in fact, exempt from this tax. After all, as Jesus says elsewhere in this gospel of Matthew, with reference to himself, something greater than the Temple is here. The Temple has lost its significance as the privileged place of God’s presence now that Jesus, who is Emmanuel, God-with-us, has arrived to proclaim the powerful presence of God’s reign. Yet, Jesus goes on to declare that, even though, in theory, he and his disciples are free from this Temple tax, Peter should pay the half shekel tax on their behalf. Jesus implies that being free in regard to something does not mean that it is always good to exercise our freedom. Sometimes, other values take precedence over the value of freedom. In this case, what was of greater value was sensitivity towards the collectors of the tax by not offending them, or giving unnecessary scandal. For Jesus, consideration for others, love of others, takes priority over the exercise of legitimate freedom. Within the Christian tradition, freedom is always shaped by love of others, that self-emptying love that places the good of the other before our own, the kind of love that Jesus revealed in his life and his death.

And/Or

(viii) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The story in today’s gospel reading about the half-shekel has been described as one of the more curious stories in the gospels. The half-shekel was a tax that every Jew paid for the upkeep of the Temple in Jerusalem. The collectors of this half-shekel tax came to Peter to know whether Jesus paid this tax or not. In other words, was Jesus a good Jew? Did he support the Temple like every committed Jew? In the conversation Jesus subsequently had with Peter about this tax, Jesus says, ‘the sons are exempt’. Jesus was in the process of forming a new family of disciples, who would be his brothers and sisters, and, thereby, sons and daughters of God. We all belong to that family. On the principle that fathers do not tax their children, Jesus concludes that the members of his new family do not have to pay a tax to God, their Father. However, even though in principal Jesus’ disciples are free from this tax, they should pay it, so as not to give unnecessary scandal to those for whom it is important. Jesus is talking here about a deeper freedom, the freedom to renounce one’s legitimate freedom out of love for others. This is what Saint Paul would call the freedom of the Spirit. It is the freedom to love, even if that entails renouncing our legitimate freedom. For Jesus and Paul, loving consideration for others is a higher value that freedom. For us as followers of Jesus it is love that shapes how we exercise our freedom. The fundamental question for us as Jesus’ disciples is not so much ‘What am I free to do or not do?’ but ‘How can I serve the other in love, especially the most vulnerable?’ When we live out of that question, then we reflect something of God who, according to our first reading, ‘sees justice done for the orphan and widow’ and ‘who loves the stranger’.

And/Or

(ix) Monday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading, the prophet Ezekiel has a vision of God. He found it very difficult to describe this experience. He uses the phrase, ‘something that looked like’ and ‘what looked like’. It looked like a sapphire, a throne, fire. It looked like all of these elements but it wasn’t any of them. It is very tentative language. Ezekiel is aware that his description doesn’t do justice to what he saw. God is always beyond our words. Human words fail us when it comes to speaking of God. Yet, God has spoken a powerful word to us to help us to see who God is, and that word is Jesus. To see Jesus is to see God. How Jesus relates to us shows us how God relates to us. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus shows great sensitivity in the way he relats to those who put a hostile question to Peter, ‘Does your master not pay the half shekel?’ This was a tax paid to the Temple in Jerusalem for its upkeep. It is clear from the gospel reading that Jesus felt no obligation to pay this tax and, yet, he told Peter to pay it, ‘so as not to offend these people’. Even though Jesus felt totally free in regard to this Temple tax, he paid it because he didn’t want to offend those for whom the tax was very important. There was a great sensitivity there to the feelings of others. Sensitivity to others, to what is important to them, to what they hold dear, is one of the expressions of love. There are different ways of expressing our relationship with God. Some people’s way of relating to God, their way of praying, for example, may not appeal to us, but we are respectful of it and sensitive to their feelings around it. Jesus revealed God’s love, a love that was full of sensitivity for others. Through the Holy Spirit he empowers us to give expression to this sensitive love in our own lives.

Fr. Martin Hogan.