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, "Doesn´t 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." (Matthew 17:22-27)
Introductory Prayer: Lord
God, I believe in your presence here with me as I begin this moment of prayer.
I hope in you. I know that you will always take care of me. I want this time
with you to be a sign of my love for you. I seek only to please you, without
desiring any spiritual consolation for myself.
Petition: Lord, help me to
acknowledge your greatness with my words and actions.
1. No Tax Loopholes, Not Even for Jesus: Jesus draws from Peter the admission that collectors of the
Temple Tax did not consider him the Son of God, and that they did not consider
the Temple the house of his Father. They therefore thought he was subject to
the tax. In effect, by obliging him to pay the tax they implied that they
considered him a subject or a foreigner. Joined with Jesus’ prediction of his
Passion, the scene harkens back to the line from the opening of John’s Gospel,
“He was in the world and the world came to be through him, but the world did
not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept
him” (John 1:10-11). How this must have broken the heart of Christ to find
himself unwelcome among those he came to save. And how often we leave Christ
alone in our churches and chapels, with no one to visit him or acknowledge his
presence there.
2. A Place Where Christ Is Welcome: What does it mean for us to welcome Christ into our life? It
must be more than a warm emotion.
Rather it must be opening ourselves to the presence of him who
comes to make his home among us and share our lives. We have a God who is so
close to us and wants a relationship with us. He wants our time and our
attention. Welcoming Christ into our life means recognizing him not as a
foreigner who comes from afar to impose himself, but as our personal Lord -- as
our master, and our savior. It is his will that must rule in our life and
direct our behavior. We must acknowledge that only he has the word of life and
we must turn our lives to him in loving obedience. The fruit of this will be
interior peace and profound joy.
3. A Society Without Christ Is Empty and Confused: Today we see how frequently Christ is refused entry into the
world, and how frequently he is marginalized by so many of those who have great
influence in society and in our culture. He is deliberately excluded from the
world of politics, from the world of science, the arts, of business, law, and
medicine. Often he is treated in the media only when it chooses to ridicule
him. As followers of Christ, we must bring him and his word of life back into
every sphere of human activity, for a world without Christ is a world that
knows neither its origin nor its destiny and will turn against man himself.
Conversation with Christ: Jesus,
give me courage to make your presence felt in the world around me. Let me not
be afraid to show that my faith in you is the center of my life and gives
meaning to all I do. Let me give witness of the joy I experience in living by
your law in my life.
Resolution: I will find time to spend with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament today or
find a way to give witness to Christ in the midst of my daily occupations,
manifesting my faith publicly.
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