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.
This is an expression of the freedom of children of God (see Romans 8:21). They are free from a customary tax. After all, Jesus is the true temple. He should most properly receive any such tax. But it is an interesting freedom. It is not something which they are absolutely speaking obliged to do but something which they nevertheless choose to do to avoid giving offense.
There are two questions for us in the gospel reading today. Do we appreciate our freedom as sons and daughters of God? We answer to a higher authority than those in the world. This should have implications for how we choose to live. Sometimes we may even be called to disobey a lower authority to remain faithful to the Most High. One thinks of the Little Sisters of the Poor and the HHS Mandate. Yet it is a freedom that is durable enough that we can at times forego our rights for the sake of others. We can choose not to give offense in order to live peacably with others, to keep open communication channels so that we can witness to as many as possible.When should we insist on our rights and when should we strive to avoid offense? The only way to know this is to truly put God first.
And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you
but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly,
to love and serve the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul,
to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD
which I enjoin on you today for your own good?
When we live for the King we take on the King's priorities.
For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods,
the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,
who has no favorites, accepts no bribes;
who executes justice for the orphan and the widow,
and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him.
So you too must befriend the alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
Our hearts become like his heart. With hearts like his we can know when the world needs the witness of our disobedience to earthly powers and when to keep the peace so that we can witness in other ways. This is such a very common theme in the lives of so many. We keep relationships open in order that we may love others as they allow us to love them. We don't always lay down the hammer of God's law when to do so would not be helpful. But at the same time, we need to be cautious to avoid taking the easy way out if we are being called to speak difficult truths. The only way to know this for sure is for us to have hearts that care more about others than our own comfort. Hearts like this can only come from putting the LORD first and truly living as his children.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
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