Monday August 12
SEEK NO PRIVILEGES
Introduction
A mixed assortment of slaves had been made into a people, obtained freedom, and was on its way to a land of its own. People without hope had been given dreams of a great future. All this because there was a God “foolish” enough to attach himself to these people and to love them without any merit on their part. This love was a call, waiting for a response of life-long fidelity to God’s ways.
The gospel gives us the image of God-in-civilian Jesus, God’s Son, a man who pays his taxes even when he is not obliged to. It may be a hint for us not to ask for privileges because we are Christians and to act and live as free people, who at times – or often – choose to do what we are not obliged to do, especially in the form of help.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you are present among us in secret, incognito,
with the everyday appearance
of an ordinary person.
God, give us eyes of faith
to see that you are among us
in the person of Jesus your Son
in this eucharist,
in the joys and sorrows of life,
in the people we meet in the street.
Make us attentive to your presence
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: 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 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Alleluia: See 2 Thes 2:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God has called you through the Gospel
to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.”
Intercessions
– For the Church, that it may not be ashamed of preaching the crucified Christ and of being self-effacing with him, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may never put the law above people but practice first the great commandment of loving one another, we pray:
– For our Christian communities, that we may welcome strangers and foreigners and make them our friends in the name of God who has befriended us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, our Father,
you are our God of glory,
and yet you let your Son come among us
in the simple signs of bread and wine.
Stay among us
and make us also reflect your presence
in all simplicity
by making you available to people
in our goodness and compassion,
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you know how complicated we can be,
and yet, your glory is among us
in all that is simple and commonplace:
in water and oil, bread and wine,
a gesture of forgiveness and reconciliation.
God, we thank you for your goodness.
And may our hearts and gestures
be as simple as your presence,
that in a tear or a smile
we may reveal your Son in our midst,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We are free sons and daughters of God and we cherish this freedom. Yet we do not want to be a clan separate from others or people seeking privileges. We want to be united with all and to serve them. May almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
It seems that we never escape the question of taxes—neither in modem or biblical times. The temple tax was imposed on all Jewish males of a certain age. Peter’s affirmative answer to his questioners clearly shows that he expected Jesus to comply with the tax law. But Jesus introduces an interesting question. Roman law drew heavily on foreigners to meet the tax debt. Evidently much less was asked of its own citizens. When it came to the temple, Jesus was a son in the Father’s house, not a foreigner. Therefore, he and his disciples were exempt from the tax. But in order to prevent scandal, he decides to comply, in a miraculous fashion.
The reign of God stands above any human government. Its authority is not divided. The state has its own duties and an income that has to be supplied by the citizenry. The temple had restorations and maintenance to be concerned with. It is obviously the beneficiaries who must pay. But for Jesus it is a secondary and irrelevant question.
Today there is much justifiable debate about the justice of taxation. There are instances when the working class carries the heaviest burden, with benefits often given to the wealthier classes. As Christians we are dutiful citizens who are willing to do our share. But justice often demands that we raise our voice in protest to elected officials when there is a disproportionate weight placed upon people who already carry too heavy a burden.
Points to Ponder
Christ as a subject of taxation
Christ’s willingness to comply
Citizens as taxpayers.
Seek no privileges
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