Word to the Wise
Monday, August 13, 2018 - Monday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 1:2-5, 24-28c and Matt 17:22-27]MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018 MONDAY IN THE NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28c and Matthew 17:22-27] When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?” [Matthew] Church buildings have to be maintained. Catholics are accustomed to “second collections” for the maintenance fund. In Jesus’ time, every Jewish male nineteen years old and above was required to pay an annual head tax for the temple maintenance. Since the Gospel According to Matthew was originally addressed to an audience composed of mostly Jewish converts, the issue would have been sensitive. Should they continue to pay that tax? After the destruction of the temple in 70A.D., the Romans built a pagan temple on the same site and charged the population a similar tax for its upkeep! That may have been behind today’s story as well. Jesus tells Peter to tell the others to pay the tax even though, theologically speaking, they could have considered themselves exempt. Don’t we all wish we could get a fish to pay it for us? To this day there is a species of fish in the Sea of Galilee that is served to visitors as the same kind that swallowed that coin. The idea seems to be that the temple should not be an issue to the Christian community. They can be generous even if they considered themselves no longer obliged to the requirements of the temple. It’s a bit like going to a different parish than the one you’re accustomed to on a Sunday when that maintenance collection is taken up. It’s not your church, but you can still be generous! AMEN
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