From: Matthew 17:22-27

Second Prophecy of the Passion; the Temple Tax

[22] As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is
to be delivered into the hands of men, [23] and they will kill Him, and He will be
raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

[24] When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went
up to Peter and said, “Does not your Teacher pay the tax?” 25] He said, “Yes.”
And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think,
Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons
or from others?” [26] And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him,
“Then the sons are free. [27] However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea
and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its
mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give to them for Me and for yourself.”

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Commentary:

24-27. “Half-shekel”, or “didrachma”: a coin equal in value to the annual contribu-
tion every Jew had to make for the upkeep of the temple—a day’s wage of a labo-
rer. The shekel or stater which our Lord refers to in verse 27 was a Greek coin
worth two didrachmas.

Jesus uses things great and small to get His teaching across to His disciples.
Peter, who is to be the rock on which He will found His Church (Matthew 16:18-
19), He prepares by letting him see His dramatic Transfiguration (17:1-8); now
He gives Peter another inkling of His divinity through an apparently unimportant
miracle. We should take note of Jesus’ teaching method: after His second an-
nouncement of His passion, His disciples are downhearted (Matthew 17:22-23);
here He lifts Peter’s spirits with this friendly little miracle.

26. This shows how conscientiously our Lord fulfilled His civic duties. Although
the half-shekel tax had to do with religion, given the theocratic structure of Israel
at the time, payment of this tax also constituted a civic obligation.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Ezekiel 1:2-5,24-28 ©

Ezekiel's vision of the glory of the Lord

On the fifth of the month – it was the fifth year of exile for King Jehoiachin – the word of the Lord was addressed to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldaeans, on the bank of the river Chebar.

There the hand of the Lord came on me. I looked; a stormy wind blew from the north, a great cloud with light around it, a fire from which flashes of lightning darted, and in the centre a sheen like bronze at the heart of the fire. In the centre I saw what seemed four animals. I heard the noise of their wings as they moved; it sounded like rushing water, like the voice of Shaddai, a noise like a storm, like the noise of a camp; when they halted, they folded their wings, and there was a noise.

Above the vault over their heads was something that looked like a sapphire; it was shaped like a throne and high up on this throne was a being that looked like a man. I saw him shine like bronze, and close to and all around him from what seemed his loins upwards was what looked like fire; and from what seemed his loins downwards I saw what looked like fire, and a light all round like a bow in the clouds on rainy days; that is how the surrounding light appeared. It was something that looked like the glory of the Lord. I looked, and prostrated myself.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 148:1-2,11-14 ©