August 11, 2025 -- Monday of the 19th week, odd year

Deut 10:12-22; Matt 17:22-27

Homily

The curious story of the fish caught with a coin in its mouth should not be seen as a miracle. Jesus never performs miracles to impress or to prove that he is right. The purpose of this story is rather to emphasize the fact that Jesus is master of nature, even though he is willing to pay the temple tax for himself and for Peter so as not to scandalize the weak. Jesus thus teaches us to put the good of others before the defense of our personal rights.

There is more, however, in this story. Jesus' dialogue with Peter: “From whom do the kings of this world demand taxes? From their sons or from strangers?” indicates that Jesus, by this sign, wants to show that although he was the Son of God, master of nature, he made himself a stranger. This is a theme that recurs quite often in the Gospel, albeit always in a subtle way. The Word of God came as a stranger, unrecognized, into the world that was His own. The Son of Man has no place to lay His head. Leaving His family, Jesus adopted the lifestyle of an itinerant preacher who is a stranger wherever He goes. It is therefore not surprising that “The Stranger” is one of the titles given to Christ in a whole section of early Christian literature.

This Gospel account also sheds light on the text from the Book of Deuteronomy that we heard as the first reading at Mass. Moses first reminds the people of the great commandment of love of God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart... etc.” Then he calls on them to love “the stranger,” for, he says, you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt.

In God there are no strangers, for we are all God's family; and besides, we are all strangers here on earth, for our true home is above. If we have these feelings in our hearts and live them out in our lives, we will have done much to restore unity and love in a world divided by hatred, tensions, and often fear of strangers.

We celebrate today the memory of Saint Clare.

Armand VEILLEUX