“The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.

I am walking on the same way as Jesus did, and this is the road that will lead me to the resurrection,

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28c

On the fifth of the month

(it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiakin)   the word of Yahweh came to Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chal­deans by the banks of the Kebar.

There the hand of Yahweh was upon me. Ezekiel sees the Glory of Yahweh

I looked: a windstorm came from the north bringing a great cloud. A fiery light inside it lit up all around it, while at the center there was something like a glowing metal.

In the center were what appeared to be four creatures with the same form;   I heard the noise of their wings when they moved, similar to the roar of many waters, similar to the voice of the Most High, the noise of a multitude or of a camp. When they were not moving they lowered their wings.

I heard a noise above the platform over their heads.  Above it was a throne resembling a sapphire and high on this throne was a figure similar to that of a man. Then I saw a light as of glowing bronze as if fire en­veloped him  from his waist upwards. And from his waist downwards it was as if fire gave radiance around him.

 The surrounding light was like a rainbow in the clouds after a day of rain. This vision was the likeness of Yah­weh’s Glory. On seeing it I fell on my face and then I heard a voice speaking.

 

Ps 148:1-2, 11-12, 13-14

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.

 

 ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 17:22-27

While Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, he said to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into human hands,   and they will kill him. But he will rise on the third day.” The Twelve were deeply grieved.

 When they returned to Caper­naum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, “Does your mas­ter pay the temple tax?” He answered, “Certainly.”

Peter then entered the house, but im­mediately Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tributes to the kings of the earth: their sons or the other people?”  Peter replied, “The others.” And Jesus told him, “The sons, then, are tax-free.  

 But so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it, take it and let it pay for you and for me.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Death and Taxes

“Death and taxes are the only two certainties in life,” we say. Well, Jesus mentions both in today’s gospel. The matter-of –fact manner in which Jesus mention his death must make us think.

Jesus can speak so because he knows that his death at the hands of his enemies is part of the grand design of Good, and he is at home with it. Frees him up to live his life to such fullness that he is also ease living the life of an earthly citizen with it’s “taxing” demands.

Ernest Becker, in his brilliant book Denial of Death, argues that every undertaking of human being is an effort at denying death. Whereas this denial has given us great advancement in science and technology, how greater would our achievements be, especially at the service of human solidarity, if we can serenely accept the reality of death and live our lives accordingly!