St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin & martyr 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

 So now, Israel,

What is it that Yahweh, your God, asks of you but to fear him and follow all his ways? Love him and serve him with all your heart and withall your soul.   Observe the commandments of Yahweh and his laws which I command you today, for your good.

 See: the heavens, those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to Yahweh, your God.  Nevertheless, it was on your fathers that Yahweh set his heart. He loved them, and after them, he chose their descendants ­– you – preferring you to all the peoples, as you can see this day.

Purify your hearts, then, and do not be defiant towards Yahweh be­cause  Yahweh is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, the strong and terrible God. When he judges, he treats everyone equally; he does not let himself be bought by gifts.  He renders justice to the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing.  

Love the stranger then, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt. Fear Yahweh, your God, serve him, follow him and call on his name when you have to make an oath.  He is your pride and he is your God, who has done those amazing things for you.  When you went down to Egypt, your ancestors were no more than seventy persons, but now, Yahweh, your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.

 

Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

 

＊＊＊＊ 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：

 Jesus' discourse on his passion, death and resurrection attests to his full embrace of human nature. But at the same time, he is still God. That is why he will resurrect on the third day. He dies as a human, but death cannot contain his divinity. He will rise up again into new life.

His full embrace of our human nature is further reinforced in the second part of the Gospel. Jesus pays the temple tax. Even though he is the Son of God and technically exempt from the obligation to pay the tax required for the Temple's upkeep, still he asks Peter to find ways for them both to oblige.

He does not exercise his privilege as the Son. He acts like any other ordinary human being without any sense of entitlement. When we are tempted to exploit our privileges, let us remember that the Son of God exercised self-restraint in solidarity with humanity with whom he self-identified.