Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17, 22 – 27
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed. When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?’ He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’ When Peter said, ‘From others’, Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.’
What corresponds to whom it corresponds.
1 – Grieved. This is the apostles feeling, it is the grief they feel when they get to know the difficult time that Jesus will go through. That is what happens to you when you start the week and you know that it is going to be hard, you feel depressed. You know that sooner or later you have to make a decision, and when you say, “I don’t want to spend my whole life living like this,” you don’t know how to get out of it. These are sorrows that you feel deeply in your heart and do not even let you think right and make you feel as if you are lost. But the only thing I can tell you is that there is a resurrection.
2- Yes, pay. Something that the social doctrine of the Church teaches is that we have to move from being inhabitants to citizens. For example,you cannot tell me that you go to Mass every Sunday and yet don’t respect the traffic laws. A believer must be responsible with his country and his civil obligation. Love your country, take care of it, and be a good contributor. What kind of country do you want to leave to your children? We all complain, but what can we do to make this world a better place? We must pray, but also act. You can start today. Be a good citizen by not littering in the street, take care of it instead.
3- To scandalize. It is to see the prudence of Jesus. Today, I invite you to work on prudence so as not to scandalize. Today, we live in a world that buys and sells scandals, just take a look at the TV shows and you will see how full of gossip and scandals they are. Be careful and be prudent in what you say or do. Maybe you are right, and I think you are right( Jesus was right too) but you also have to be careful not to scandalize. A gesture or an act of yours can destroy a life.
May God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. …and do not forget: Heaven is Our Goal!
