GOSPEL POWER l AUGUST 9, 2021 

19th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Mt 17:22-27 

22As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of  Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, 23and they will kill  him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly  distressed. 24When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple  tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple  tax?” 25He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke  of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings  of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?”  26When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the  children are free. 27However, so that we do not give offence to them,  go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and  when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it  to them for you and me.”

We, believers in Jesus Christ, possess, as it were, a  dual citizenship. While we are already citizens of the  heavenly Kingdom that is not yet fully unveiled, we remain,  at the same time, citizens of the world, subject to laws promulgated  by human beings. Jesus entered our world as the inaugurator of God’s  Kingdom, which he established not by overthrowing the existing  order of things. Today’s Gospel attests that he respected human laws,  though he was aware that often they were unjust and were abused  by those who implemented them. The domain Jesus conquered for  the heavenly Kingdom is the human heart, where, alone, genuine  transformation and reform can begin. Only transformed people can  transform the world’s structures, and thus, make the veiled Kingdom  more visible and tangible. Lord Jesus, help us to trust that even in the midst of the unjust human  structures that we have to endure, God’s purposes are being fulfilled. Amen