Half a Shekel or Life to the Full... a God-talk.

WORD 2day: Monday, 19th week in Ordinary time

August 12, 2019: Deuteronomy 10: 12-22; Matthew 17: 22-27

I run every risk of being misunderstood if I write, Christians have to be people with a dual citizenship! With the pseudo-religio-political claims that prevail in our land today, that 'all Christians are westerners', the risk is real and concrete. But let me stay clear of it, by immediately explaining myself further that we are undeniably legitimate citizens of the country we belong to, but at the same time, we eternally look forward to the one that God has prepared for us (Heb 11:12). 

The first reading today underlines the primacy of God and God's place in our lives! In the Gospel, Jesus shows us an example of looking at everything in life, absolutely everything in life, from the perspective of God. Even a question of paying tax leads Jesus to reflect on the fact that we are sons and daughters of God, that we are free by virtue of our participation in the Divine Nature of God! 

Paying half a shekel was a duty of a slave, according to Jesus. That is not what is asked of a Son or a Daughter. While a slave intends to pay the half-a-shekel that is expected of him, the Son gives the entire life to the Lord, surrenders the totality of one's life, bringing that life to its fullness thus. So living a life that is worthy of God who has created me and loved me into existence, is to live a life filled with God, and live it to the full... not in terms of half-a-shekel!

The capacity of Jesus to move from the ordinary things of the daily life to a reflection on our relationship with God, is something amazing and something that we need to practice ourselves too. Let us at the end of this day, look back and see how many God-talks we were inspired to, all along this day.