Memorial of St. Dominic, priest
Jesus’ miracles are not just the pyrotechnics of His teaching – they are integral parts of His full revelation of the plan of salvation. Jesus’ miracles, then, are done for others, not Himself, and never for trivial reasons. However, we do come across things like Christ casting out the legion of demons into a swineherd that drowns itself and today’s miracle that do not fit these characteristics. Today, the Lord tells Peter to catch a fish that will provide two coins in its mouth to pay the Temple tax for both Him and Peter. This is the most random and self-serving miracle Jesus performs.
In order to understand this miracle, we have to take into account the prediction of the Passion that precedes it and the context of the Temple tax. The Temple tax originated when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, and they paid for a soul to enter the Promised Land. This was the price of sin. Yet, Jesus is the Son of God, King of the heavenly realm, was exempt from the tax. In response to the Pharisees, He says that He will not cause offense. Since when does Christ worry about annoying the Pharisees? Offense here means to not put a stumbling block before people in their authentic faith. Most do not accept Him as Messiah, and indeed He has not performed His salvific climax by the Cross and Resurrection. So He will set a good example and identify with sinners.
Identifying with sinners and paying their debt gratuitously, miraculously, along with sacrificing His life is what He will do in the Crucifixion. Like the fish, He will die, and like the coins, He more than pays our debt. We did not earn this, and it comes to us by means of the Father giving away His only Son – something that seems trivial given its gravity, equivalent to dropping a hook in the water and immediately catching a fish. And so we see that this strangest of all miracles is a sign of Jesus’ love and care for His, indeed His entire mission, which supersedes the old Temple worship in His own body.
Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections