An older man collapsed on Brooklyn Street and was taken to Kings County Hospital. From a faded address in the man's wallet, the hospital authorities tried deciphering the name and address of a marine, who appeared to be his son. They then made an emergency call for the marine. When the marine arrived, the older man reached out his hand feebly. The marine took it and held it tenderly for the next four hours until the older man died.
After the man had passed away, the marine asked, " Who was that old man?" The nurse said, "Wasn't that your father?" "No," said the marine, "but I saw he needed a son, so I stayed."
Are we ready and willing, like the marine in our story, to befriend strangers and oblige someone or some cause, even though it is not our duty, to the point of causing ourselves inconvenience to love others?
The Temple Taxes
In the Gospel, Matthew hints that Jesus paid the Temple tax in His lifetime, even though He was the Son of God and was exempt. Ruled by Rome through the procurators and governors, the Jewish people were burdened with four principal kinds of taxes: a land tax, a poll tax, a tax on personal property, and a house tax. In Jerusalem, there were also export and import customs at seaports and city gates.
Aside from these taxes due to foreign rulers, the people were also taxed individually with a half-shekel payment annually for the Temple. In Jesus' time, every male Jew over the age of 20 was required to pay an annual sum of two drachmas, half a shekel, to support the worship of God in the Temple of Jerusalem. The Temple was an expensive place to run. The tax enabled the priests to rely on something more than the fluctuating freewill offerings of Temple visitors.
The collectors of the Temple tax knew Jesus to be the master of His group, but Peter often took charge of its temporal affairs. When the tax collector at Capernaum reminded Peter of the obligation, Peter answered, without consulting Jesus, that his master kept this law and habitually paid the tax. Jesus is like us in everything, even in being taxed!
Obligation or Duty
He showed people a good example. Jesus, by declaring Himself exempt, took the opportunity to teach that He is God's Son. Despite His exemption, Jesus wanted to fulfill His duties as a citizen, as other people did.
Matthew is making a good point: our criteria for doing something should be something other than whether we have an obligation. Rather, it should be: What does love ask of us under these circumstances? Remember the marine from our story? He was not obliged to be with the dying man, yet that was what love demanded of him then. Jesus was not obliged to pay the tax, yet he paid.
Let us step beyond our obligations and embrace the call of love, even when it's inconvenient or unexpected, just as the marine did for the dying man and as Jesus did in fulfilling His duties.
- Today’s Readings
- Father David's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) at the 30-minute mark on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
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