John 20:7-8
“But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up… you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.”
--------------------------------------------------------
Taxes, as they say, is the other thing in this world that we cannot escape. Well, at least, in the Philippines, that may be true for the working class, for taxes are already withheld from our salary even before we receive them. But for others, they can escape paying taxes, but that is another story.
When I can to work in China, my company followed the China laws and still pay taxes. For the punishment of not paying them is death. And in our gospel today, Jesus and Peter discussed about what they call “temple tax”.
During that time, temple tax is being paid for atonement as can be read in the Old Testament - "When you take a census of the Israelites…each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted”.
And so does Jesus really need to pay for temple tax? Actually, He does not need to. And why? Because He is the son of God – sinless and needs no atonement. But of course, the temple people would not understand this. And so, He would still instruct Peter to pay for their taxes, from the fish that Peter caught from the sea.
And today, we do not need to pay “temple tax” either. That is because Jesus already paid for it – for the rest of our lives – when He died on the cross. He is the ransom paid for many and paid to atone for all our sins. He is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, and our “temple tax” are paid, forever.
Let us pray +
Dear Lord, I pray that you will not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Please think of me according to Your mercy and for Your goodness' sake. I turn from all of those sins that I committed and I ask for Your help in washing the memory and thoughts of that sin completely from my mind. Please restore me to faithful obedience to Your Word, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit anew. Amen +
Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
1 comment:
WHAT WAS FINISHED
I would like to start by asking you two questions. One: Can you give an accurate definition of the phrase: "Lamb of God"?
We all know that this is one of the names used for Jesus, like Messiah, Savior, Son of Man, or Christ. But exactly what is the importance of the name "Lamb of God"?
And why is it important to me as a Catholic? The second question I would like to ask you is: Why the Catholic Church would offer The Holy Eucharist every day at every Mass throughout the world in over 3000 languages.
What knowledge do they have that would make them feel compelled to do this for thousands of years? In answering this question, we'll see why the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.'" (CC 1324)
Continue> > >
Post a Comment