The Gospel for The memorial of St. Clare Virgin is taken from Matthew 17:22, 27th verse. As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, the Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day. And they were overwhelmed with grief. When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, does not your teacher pay the temple tax? Yes, he said.

When he came to the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, what is your opinion, Simon? For whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners? When he said, from foreigners, Jesus said to him, then the subjects are exempt, but that we may not offend them. Go to the sea, drop in a hook and take the first fish that comes up. Open the mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.

Give that to them for me and for you. Jesus reveals to his disciples that he is going to be murdered and that order is going to come from the temple. And then there’s this strange question that comes up next. Do you have to pay tax to the temple? And Jesus explains, no, in his case he doesn’t really have to. Then he creates a miracle to take care of the payment, but he’s not required to.

But he does it because it’s the right thing to do. So often it’s not about rules and regulations, it’s about where we are in our hearts. And he didn’t want to create a lot of confusion. Please reflect on the meaning of these readings and I’ll close with a prayer. Foreign Father, Life is not made up of obligations only. It’s not about fulfilling them.

It’s about making decisions that create an environment and an atmosphere of peace and understanding. Bless us with that kind of wisdom when it comes to our obligations. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.