8 August 2022
Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest
Jesus’ interactions with people always have something to teach us. In today’s reading (Matt 17:22–27), Peter is questioned about whether Jesus pays the temple tax, and our Lord responds to Peter in an interesting way. Although Jesus’ question and Peter’s subsequent response reveal that Jesus and his disciples should be exempt, the Lord then proceeds to miraculously provide the money for the tax, saying, “So that we may not offend them.” Jesus’ words stand in contrast to the many times in the Gospels when our Lord seems to have no problem acting in a way that offends the religious authorities, as, for example, the many times when he heals on the sabbath or when he calls the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites.
In this contrast, we see evidence of Jesus’ own practice of discernment, of attentive listening to the Spirit which the Father has poured out upon him. Our Lord takes account of time, place, and persons in choosing how to respond. In our prayer today, then, let us contemplate this discernment that the Lord himself practices in his earthly life, asking that we too might be guided and led by his Spirit in all things.