Monday, August 08, 2016
19th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
Ez 1: 2-5. 24-28c
Gospel: Matthew 17:22-27
When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
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.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
A teacher asks the class what is the capital of the Philippines. A student stands up with this reply: “Ma’am, the Philippines has no more capital, only debts!”
When we think of corruption we immediately think of politicians as if we haven’t indirectly pilfered from government coffers through tax evasion. Corruption of public officials cannot excuse us from supporting this government. The system in Jesus’ time was even more corrupt, yet Jesus paid taxes and required others to do the same. We should support the government that protects us, builds our infrastructures and generates public services for us. By not paying our taxes we drain the veins of government since taxation is its lifeblood. Our neglect will affect others especially the poor who are most dependent upon government services. In this sense our failure to pay taxes is an indirect way of violating the great commandment of love.
We accuse politicians of pocketing our taxes, while politicians justify their inefficiency by people’s tax evasion schemes. It’s this finger-pointing cycle that binds this country to huge foreign debts. We are like Adam and Eve right after the Great Fall. Adam pointed to Eve and Eve pointed to the snake. If the snake had fingers, it could have pointed to the tree. Are our foreign debts really bigger than our capital? We hope we won’t get to this point. Should we get to this extreme situation, God please forbid, would that we won’t be as quick to point a finger at one another as Adam and Eve did! Trees could be completely extinct by then. Who would take the blame? Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God! – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email:[email protected].
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