In 1789, in a now famous letter to a French scientist, Benjamin Franklin wrote the following, “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”.
Today’s gospel contains reference to both of these certainties!
In the early part of the passage from Mt 17, Jesus is speaking to his disciples about what is coming down the pike for him. He describes for them how he will be handed over and killed and then rise up on the third day. We’re told that the disciples were “overwhelmed with grief.”
I can imagine the shock of the disciples when Jesus started talking like this, and in an earlier chapter from Matthew (16) Jesus reprimands Peter when Peter suggests that Jesus Jesus could try to find a way around the death part…
While there is much we could say about this section of the passage, what I take from it is that Jesus did not want to try to get away from the hard parts of his journey. He knew the cost of love and he knew how the powers and principalities of this world were going to respond to him. And he decided to love anyway.
It reminds me a lot of Martin Luther King’s last public address (his “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech) where he says that he was aware that there was some danger in his coming to Memphis to support the striking sanitation workers. He continues, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”
I just want to do God’s will.
It’s probably important to say that fear is a natural response to some form of threat. It’s a process meant to try to protect us. And yet that very fear (of suffering, of rejection, of loss, etc.) can be an impediment to what we need to do in our lives – for ourselves or others.
And so King, like Jesus, doesn’t let fear stop him. Like the title of the 1987 Susan Jeffers book, “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway.”
In the second part of the gospel passage, we encounter Jesus and his cohort arriving in town and a question is raised as to whether Jesus is going to “pay the temple tax.”
In the time of Jesus the temple tax was an annual tax paid by Jewish men in order to help maintain the main temple in Jerusalem. It could only be paid in silver coins and was the equivalent of about 2 days wages. Generally, temple priests and their families (who were viewed as the true servants of God) were exempt from paying this.
So the locals – probably in an ongoing attempt to trap Jesus in some way – ask Peter, “Hey, we noticed that your teacher (Jesus) hasn’t paid his temple tax. Is he going to pay it?” Peter, says, “Why yes…”
Of course Jesus wasn’t there when Peter spoke for him!
So when Peter gets home, Jesus engages him about the temple tax question. Jesus could have easily said, “I am not paying that! It’s a sham. Why did you say, “Yes?” Those priests aren’t the true servants!”
But instead, Jesus doesn’t seem to get distracted from his mission and instructs Peter to go fishing and catch a fish that will have the coins for the taxes in its belly!
While we may see this as a miracle, I think the real miracle is that Jesus remained focused on what mattered!
In the first story today, Jesus was likely just as afraid as the disciples were. Yet he did not let the fear stop him. And in the second half of the gospel, Jesus could have easily been distracted by petty things or his own emotional reaction (or sense of righteousness). Yet he stays focused on the big picture.
If I had to sum up today’s gospel, I might say, “Don’t let fear call the shots and don’t sweat the small stuff.” You might have your own way of expressing it, but I think you get the point. Stay focused on what’s yours to do and release the rest.
Perhaps as we move forward with our week and prayer life, we, too, might keep asking ourselves questions about the fears (or anxieties or worries) that come up in us when we’re faced with taking certain actions that may “cost” us something – especially those that we’re making on behalf of others, our faith or for a greater cause of justice. Maybe we can lean into them a bit and not surrender to the influence of fear.
And when things arise that could easily distract us, hopefully we can acknowledge them, release them and keep our “eyes on the prize” (as the civil rights folks used to say) so that we do not get caught up in things that we do not need to give energy to.