entitled

“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” Matt. 17:27

Jesus knew how to chose his battles. He was rather quick and unrepentant about offending others in some circumstances: when chastising the religious leaders for their hypocrisy, when clearing all commerce out of the Temple with a whip, when healing (“working”) on the Sabbath, etc. But in this passage, he chooses to pay a local temple tax that he’s not really obligated to pay in order to not offend. How curious. Why his concern about offending in this situation, but not in the others?

As I reflect on Jesus’ “offensive” actions, I recognize that these situations all reflected God the Father in some manner: his representation, his worship, his purpose and heart and work. The situation of a local temple tax is really all about Jesus and his privilege as God’s Son. As a king taxes only his subjects and strangers in his land—not his offspring—so God would not tax his son, either. As the son and heir of God the Father, Jesus would be rightly exempt in this situation. However, Jesus was quick to lay aside the privilege that he was entitled to in order to acquire and/or maintain peace and unity in his relationship with the members of the local congregation. In a world that seems to be constantly brimming over with attitudes and actions of entitlement, Jesus is impressive in his eagerness to demonstrate no entitlement by not demanding that his rightful privilege be acknowledged and honored—especially for the sake of not offending a tax collector. What a great teaching moment: for Peter, for myself and for the rest of Jesus’ followers!

Of course, this well-modeled lesson isn’t without its fun. Anyone who is of the opinion that God, Jesus, Christians, etc. don’t have a sense of humor has never considered the manner in which Jesus provides the funds to pay this tax. Go to the lake, throw in your fishing line, grab the first fish that bites and open its mouth. Voila! I hope that Peter was quick to lay aside his former practice as a fisherman by trade and practiced catch and release with that fish instead as a means of showing his appreciation towards the fish’s participation in his provision. How delightful of Jesus to provide tax money through a coin-gobbling fish.

Some situations call for corrective actions whether they cause offense or not, but what about those situations that are only about my own privilege? To what real or imagined privileges do I cling? Are there any that I’m willing to lay aside? Do I possess enough of a sense of humor and humility to quickly lay aside whatever I am rightly entitled to in order to acquire or maintain a relationship of peace and unity with others?

How about you?