REFLECTIONS TODAY

Before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70, the Jews throughout the Roman empire were required to pay tax to fund the maintenance of the temple. Male Jews above 19 years of age were to pay a half-shekel temple tax which is equivalent to about two days’ wages. The temple tax was paid yearly, about a month before Passover. Although this was ordered by Julius Caesar, the amount commanded by God for the temple tax was originally instituted to “pay” for the individual’s sins (Ex 30:11-16; Neh 10:33).

The original Greek huioi, translated as “subjects” (v 25) here, literally means “sons.” The sons of the king are free from paying the taxes, but the subjects of the king and the foreigners must pay. Because Jesus is the Son of God, he does not have to pay the temple tax. The temple is his Father’s house. He is not obliged to pay for its service. Jesus and his disciples are “sons” of the Kingdom. They are not bound by the duty imposed on those who are not of the Kingdom. Jesus could have chosen not to pay the temple tax, but he does pay anyway so as not to give offense and to avoid unnecessary conflict with people. Are we willing to do something that we are not obliged to do so as to avoid petty conflicts?

First Reading • Dt 10:12-22 
Moses said to the people: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you but to fear the Lord, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord which I enjoin on you today for your own good? Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the Lord, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. Yet in his love for your fathers the Lord was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done.

 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. The Lord, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the Lord, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.”

Responsorial psalm • Ps 147 
“Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.”
 

Gospel • 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.”

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2023,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.