Homily for Monday of the 19th week in course
Did the early followers of Jesus consider themselves to be Christians or Jews? The answer is that their discipleship to Jesus was, in their minds, the completion of Judaism. Jesus came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. But in so doing Jesus made us not merely servants of God, but sons and daughters of God. If we are one with Jesus through faith and the sacraments of initiation, especially through the Eucharist, then we are truly adopted sons and daughters of God.
That very clear doctrine, taught in St. Paul and in Matthew’s Gospel, is the point of the very odd Gospel reading we have today. I say odd because this is passage is not found in any other Gospel, one reason for continuing to believe that Matthew was the first Gospel, and was written in Hebrew. This passage, in fact, would have been incomprehensible to the Gentile audiences of Mark and Luke.
Exodus, chapters 20 and 30, speak of a “head tax” of a half-shekel, to be paid every year in order to support the Temple. So this was a requirement of the Jewish law. Matthew’s community of converts to the Way, first-generation disciples of Jesus, had an uneasy relationship with those Jews who didn’t believe in Jesus. They were also poor folk, so naturally they asked “do we have to pay this burdensome tax, especially if we don’t participate in the Temple sacrifices, which have been superseded by the sacrificial death of Christ?” Matthew’s answer was to tell the story of Jesus and Peter, a whimsical tale that used Peter’s skill as a fisherman to get the tax money with a milagrito. Jesus, however, never missed a chance to preach a sermon. He wanted us to understand our true dignity as sons and daughters of God, as His brothers and sisters.
So he told a little parable, and took a humorous swipe at the Romans, who were the only kings of the earth in that day. We could translate: “these arrogant Romans, do they collect taxes from their citizens, or from the people they have enslaved?” Everybody knew that Roman citizens did not have to pay Roman taxes on the provinces. So Peter naturally said, “from the occupied people.” Jesus was then able to make the clear analogy about the Temple Tax: Jesus is the Son of God; his disciples are adopted sons and daughters of God. So they don’t owe a tax to God’s Temple. Still, they should pay it in order to avoid giving scandal.
I believe this means that Matthew’s Jewish-Christian community still had hope that by their way of life, and their unwillingness to be a stumbling stone to the non-Christian Jews, they could convert more of them to the Way.
What does this mean for us today? Let’s not talk about taxes, let’s talk about our example. There are many, many people who are looking for the Truth, who are looking for Christ and His Church. We all, in our speech and actions, have to be extremely careful to follow Christ’s Law of love, or we will become a scandal to those who are looking for God. These folks are hearing from the media that we are a Church of perverts and child-molesters. That means that we have to be extra careful to show charity and fidelity in our daily walk. This crisis will pass in a few years, and our friends and neighbors will still be hungry for the Truth. Let’s be there, examples of love and faithfulness, when they are ready to hear the totality of the Good News.
