Gospel: 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.”
+ + + + +
+ +
Reflection:
Do you
generously give to your church?
The
gospel speaks about the payment of the temple tax. Even if they were exempted
from paying the temple tax Jesus still instructed Peter to pay the temple tax.
Perhaps Jesus did this for the reason that He wants to contribute something for
the maintenance of the church and its facilities.
This
generous payment of the temple tax by Jesus somehow invites us to examine our
generosity to our church as well. Are we
generous to our church? Do we give generously at Holy Mass during offertory?
We have
to be generous to our church so that it can have funds not only for the maintenance
of its facilities. But also for the welfare of those who are working for the church.
The money that we give to the church is not only for the church it is also for the
poor.
We
may not know this but the church takes
care of the poor, the church doesn’t blare it but it silently help the poor and
those who are in need. Therefore we have to generously give to our church and
whatever we give to our church will come back to us a hundredfold.
What may
come back to us may not necessarily be through financial rewards. It can be
peace and harmony in the family; it can be good health and many more blessing
that does not involve money.
Do you
generously give to your church and to those who are doing something to spread
the words of God? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment