Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“Heaven and earth are filled with your glory” is the refrain for today’s responsorial psalm. This draws attention to two realms of Christian belief: both heaven and earth. And indeed, there is a certain “otherworldly” quality to the worldliness of Christians; we are meant to be occupied both with heaven and with earth.
Today’s first reading from the beginning of the prophet Ezekiel is a mystical passage—one that highlights the otherworldly. At times the book of Ezekiel even seems eccentric. Today Ezekiel’s vision is of the Lord; it is so vibrant and unusual that it seems to indicate something beyond the normal sights of earth. God’s glory shines through in this vision; we ought to keep this powerful image in mind when we think of the heavens being filled with God’s glory.
The gospel passage from Matthew is interesting because of two parts that seem incongruent. The first is Jesus’ foretelling of his passion, death, and resurrection. The second part is Peter’s and Jesus’ discussion regarding paying the temple tax. The first part has a kind of “otherworldly” feel to it, and, no doubt, the disciples were surprised and even dismayed by this; it is not how they expected God’s glory to be revealed. Matthew tells us that the disciples were “overwhelmed with grief” (Mt. 17:23). The second part of the passage, however, seems very practical. Ought Peter and Jesus to pay the temple tax? Jesus’ question indicates that he and Peter are citizens of the kingdom that worships at the temple; they are the citizens of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. It is an otherworldly claim, in some sense, because Jesus knows he is not only a subject of the kingdom, but the Son of God. In this case, however, Jesus is utterly practical. His worldly answer is that they should pay the temple tax. The coin, however, is provided miraculously from a fish. In other words, we see in this passage Jesus as both human and divine. As human, he will pay the temple tax, just as he will suffer and die. His source for the tax, however, is miraculous, and the end of his suffering and death is his glory in the resurrection.
As Christians, we must keep earth and heaven, the human and divine in mind. We are called to live on earth en route to our future destination in heaven. We are meant to see God’s glory in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As we reflect on today’s readings, let us ask ourselves how we might be better aware of God’s glory both in heaven and on earth, so that we can proclaim with the psalm response: “Heaven and earth are filled with your glory!”
- Maria Morrow