Matthew 17:22-27

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Psalm 147:12-13. 14-15, 19-20

Matthew 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have made me your child through your Son and your Spirit. You know my rebellious moments and my docile moments. You know all things. Help me to be a better child who listens to you, imitates your Son, and is docile to your Spirit.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Second Foretelling of His Death and Resurrection: In the Gospel, Jesus foretells his death and resurrection a second time. The first time he did this, Peter reacted very strongly and took Jesus aside to rebuke him and say: “God forbid, Lord.” This second time, no one opposes Jesus, but they become greatly distressed and overwhelmed with grief. The third time Jesus foretells his death, James and John affirm that they will drink the chalice of suffering with Jesus. Taken together, we can discern a movement along the way to Jerusalem from forceful opposition, to anguished resignation, to shared acceptance. In his first announcement of his death and resurrection, Jesus said simply that he must suffer many things from the elders and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed. The second time, Jesus says that as the Son of Man, he must be delivered into the hands of men and that they will kill him. The third time, he says that the chief priests and scribes will condemn the Son of Man to death and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked, scourged, and crucified. The third provides the most details about his upcoming suffering and indicates how exactly he will be killed. Crucifixion was the worst kind of death as it was a cruel form of torture and slow killing. 

2. The Question of the Temple Tax: The discussion about the Temple tax immediately follows the second passion prediction. “The juxtaposition is deliberate: Jesus will be killed, finally, for shutting down the temple temporarily (Mt 21:12-17), and so the temple finds mention now, but the story will also show Jesus to be an obedient and loyal Jew” (Huizenga, Behold the Christ, 303). Those who posed the question to Jesus were somewhat hostile and this is indicated in Matthew by the questioners calling him “Teacher.” Jesus’ subsequent discussion with Peter reveals that Jesus is more than a teacher, for he is the Son of God. Jesus asks Peter: Do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax “from others” or “from sons”? While kings take tolls and taxes from their people and from the nations they rule, no king taxes his own sons and daughters. They are exempt: “The king in this analogy represents God; Jesus as God’s Son (3:17; 17:9) is the Son of the King. Just as the royal sons in a secular kingdom are exempt from paying the king’s taxes, so too Jesus, as God’s Son, is free from paying a tax for God’s house, the temple” (Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 223). Jesus is the ultimate Son of God; his followers are also sons of God. Like Jesus, they should be exempt. “But Jesus, careful to avoid scandal, instructs Simon Peter to pay the tax, which he’ll obtain not from Jesus’s or the disciples’s funds but through a miracle” (Huizenga, Behold the Christ, 304).

3. Circumcise your Hearts: The First Reading, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, employs a powerful image – the circumcision of the heart. Moses has just recalled the breaking of the Sinai covenant and the renewal of that covenant. What is Israel to do now after 40 years of desert wandering, and ready to enter the Promised Land? They are to fear the Lord with humility, follow the Lord’s ways exactly, love and serve (worship) the Lord with all their heart and soul, and keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord. Moses looks forward to a day in the future when God will establish a New Covenant that will be interior rather than exterior. He employs the image of circumcising the heart. “Circumcision is an outward sign of an inward act. Removing the foreskin of the flesh symbolizes the need to cut away the stubbornness of the human heart and consecrate it to the Lord through obedience (Jeremiah 4:4). To have an uncircumcised heart is to be unresponsive to God and unfaithful to the demands of his covenant (Jeremiah 9:25-26)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 29).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I have been given the awesome gift of divine sonship. I am sure I do not fully comprehend all that this means. One day, seeing the Father, you, and the Holy Spirit, face to face, I will truly know what it means to be a child of God.

Living the Word of God: How do I look at my children? Do I know them well? Do I know their strengths and weaknesses? Do I know what makes them unique? How do I react to their successes? How do I react to their failures? Can I do the same reflection, thinking about how God the Father sees me? What does the Father most want from me in this moment?