As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were overwhelmed with grief.
(Matthew 17:22-23)
I wonder, Lord, whether the disciples heard anything after the words, “and they will kill him.” Were they so shocked that the phrase about your being raised didn’t penetrate? If they heard that, would they not have felt wonder as well as grief?
Looking back now, we view your passion in the light of your resurrection; yet we still grieve at the inhumane way they treated you, who had come as the Son of Mary, to be a brother, even to those who tortured and killed you. You were turned over to your own.
The passage that follows about the taxes seems trivial and out-of-place, but you were still with them, still teaching and guiding them. You are here now, in the miracles and the mysteries, in the most profound truth and in the little, daily questions. Let me then, follow whatever laws are not sinful, whether it be a traffic law or something vital. Let me not give scandal, even if I am exempt. Help me to be obedient in little things without losing sight of the most holy.