What If...?

Matthew 17:22-27

Matthew tells a quirky story about Peter catching a fish and taking a coin from its mouth. This is what Jesus told him to do. The coin was intended for paying the temple tax for both Jesus and Peter. But the story ends before Peter actually pays the tax. In fact, the story ends before Peter even goes fishing. Normally we think of this account as one of Jesus’ miracles. But what if…? What if Jesus was being intentionally ironic? What if Jesus’ instructions to Peter were intended as a joke of sorts. “If you think we should pay the tax, Peter, go take a coin from a fish’s mouth and use that.”

Since Matthew never tells us that Peter caught the fish or paid the tax maybe we should consider the context more carefully. Peter tells the authorities that Jesus pays the tax, but according to Matthew, “(Jesus said,) ’What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’ When Peter said, ‘From others,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free’” (Matthew 17:25-26). If Jesus is the Son of God (and he is!) he has no need to pay the tax. Peter, who has still not managed to put all of the pieces together, does not understand what it means to say that Jesus is the Messiah. So Jesus says, with tongue firmly in cheek, “go catch a fish, Peter.”

Either way, miracle or not, the truth of this passage is that Jesus is the Son of God, and for us as God’s people the temple tax has been replaced by a call for faithful obedience. If we understand we will give our full attention to Jesus. If we don’t, we may find ourselves “gone fishing.”

Prayer: Lord, help us to live to your glory with hearts attuned to you will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What Does It Take?

Matthew 17:14-21

Our gospel reading for today tells a story of healing and faith. “When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you’” (Matthew 17:14-21) On the one hand Jesus’ words to his disciples sound like a stinging rebuke: “If you only had the faith of a mustard seed!” On the other hand, Jesus’ words offer insight into all that is possible.

We live in a world of pain and suffering, of anger and disunity, of oppression and injustice. What are we to do about such things? In faith, even in our little faith, we trust God to be at work healing, comforting, restoring, reconciling. By ourselves we cannot do all that is needed, but by God’s grace we have a role to play. Even when we seem to fail we may find ourselves as witnesses to great things.

“If you only had the faith of a mustard seed!” Yet even if we don’t Jesus remains the source of our hope and the reason for our faith, as frail as it may be.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live in faith, but do not leave us in our times of doubt or fear. Work through us to accomplish your will. With faith in Jesus we pray. Amen.

How Did He Know? Why Does It Matter?

Matthew 17:1-13

Matthew’s account of the transfiguration leaves us with an interesting question. “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’” (Matthew 17:1-4). So, how exactly did Peter know who Jesus was talking to? How did he know it was Moses and Elijah? A couple of humorous answers have occurred to me over the years. One is that Moses and Elijah wore nametags: “Hello, My Name is Moses.” Another is that Peter has seen pictures of these men on their collectors’ cards. (Just imagine what Moses’s “rookie card” would have been worth!)

What I used to think was that Peter recognized the two prophets because he knew the history, the scriptures, the stories of Israel’s past. But I’ve changed my mind somewhat. Now I believe that it’s not so important how Peter recognized Jesus’ conversation partners, it is more important that he did recognize them, but that in the end he still didn’t get what was going on. In telling this story Matthew gives a clear signal to us as readers about Jesus’ identity, but Peter and the others are left in a fog, literally and figuratively.

The question then becomes more about what we do with the knowledge that we’ve been given. Do we “get it,” that Jesus is the Son of God to whom we are to listen? Or do we continue to wander in a haze of misunderstanding, failing to grasp the big picture? If Jesus is the Son of God, if Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:7a), then why are we living the way we live, doing the things we do, causing the sorts of problems that we seem determined to cause? Jesus is the Son of God; even Moses and Elijah know it. Now it’s time to live as though Jesus’ identity means something to us as well.

Prayer: Lord, help us to grasp the glory and the grace that is all around us and to live as redeemed people, not as those stuck in the past. In Jesus’ name. Amen.