Jesus is man with a true human nature. But he is also God with a divine nature. He lived, circulated among ordinary men and women.
The consequences of this fact is vital for understanding who I am, and Jesus teaches me this in the miracle of the coins in today’s Gospel.
Because he was the “Son of God”, truly divine, he was exempt from the temple tax. But in paying it he showed he did not become man to demand his rights as God. He was God-made-man immersed in the crowd of ordinary people. That is the meaning of the Incarnation. Here he shows what that means.
Conclusion: to be a Christian is never a privilege. To be a priest, religious, bishop is less so. It is a vocation to be more human, to live among people in a way to make them aware of their call to become divine.
Lord, save me from one of the worst sins of all – clericalism. And save clerics and religious from the same.