55. The Fisherman Catches a Fish (Mt 17:14-27)

“God might give him this answer… ‘Fix your eyes on him alone, because in him I have spoken and revealed all. Moreover, in him you will find more than you ask or desire.’”

- St John of the Cross

Matthew 17:14-27

As they were rejoining the crowd a man came up to him and went down on his knees before him. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘take pity on my son: he is a lunatic and in a wretched state; he is always falling into the fire or into the water. I took him to your disciples and they were unable to cure him.’ ‘Faithless and perverse generation!’ Jesus said in reply ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And when Jesus rebuked it the devil came out of the boy who was cured from that moment. Then the disciples came privately to Jesus. ‘Why were we unable to cast it out? they asked. He answered, ‘Because you have little faith. I tell you solemnly, if your faith were the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it would move; nothing would be impossible for you.’ ^[1]

One day when they were together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again’. And a great sadness came over them. When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the half shekel came to Peter and said, ‘Does your master not pay the half-shekel?’ ‘Oh yes’ he replied, and went into the house. But before he could speak, Jesus said, ‘Simon, what is your opinion? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from foreigners?’ And when he replied, ‘From foreigners’, Jesus said, ‘Well then, the sons are exempt. However, so as not to offend these people, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that bites, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for you.’

Christ the Lord

Peter clearly doesn’t want Jesus to get into more trouble with the authorities than he is in already. So he commits Jesus to paying the Temple tax (all Jewish males older than nineteen were required to pay the annual tax) without first consulting him. Peter’s intentions are wholesome, but Jesus doesn’t let the moment go by without taking advantage of it to reiterate the constant refrain of these last few chapters: Jesus is greater than the Temple; he has come to establish a New Covenant; he is not merely a mighty rabbi or a powerful human king or even a wise prophet – he is the Messiah, the Son of God. Taxes are for subjects who aren’t of the King’s family, not for the King. Jesus’ dialogue with Peter points out once again that he is the Lord of lords, to whom everyone else owes allegiance and obedience, even the fish of the sea.

Christ the Teacher

In the last few chapters of St Matthew’s Gospel, Peter has been emerging more and more clearly as the leader of the apostles. Here the Temple guards come up to him, acknowledging him as the group’s spokesman. When Jesus has Peter pay the tax for both of them, he is identifying him in a special way with his mission; Christ’s future vicar shares his royal authority (thus the fish coughs up only one coin and its value covers both payments). Jesus has traveled all over Palestine healing and teaching, but his most important work up to now has been preparing the apostles, laying the foundations for his Church, the new Israel, the sacrament of salvation for all the world. The Church wasn’t a post-Christ invention; it was the Lord’s plan from the very beginning.

Christ the Friend

As soon as Jesus and his three closest disciples come down from the mountain after the Transfiguration, they are met with a crisis: a seething demonic possession that the disciples couldn’t resolve. How familiar this experience is for every Christian! A beautiful weekend retreat, an inspiring meditation – and then life’s hustle and bustle come mercilessly roaring back. Jesus isn’t fazed. What bothers him isn’t the desperate man pleading for his son to be healed; rather it is the disciples’ lack of faith. For some reason, they were not able to expel the demon, and Jesus says point blank it’s because they still don’t believe enough. A robust faith is sufficient for all the disciple’s needs and crises; that’s the lesson of the comparison between the mustard seed (something so small as to be almost invisible) and the mountain, a radical disproportion between appearances and effects. The apostles’ lack of this faith is the also the reason Jesus has to describe yet again his coming passion – and they still can’t understand it; they just grow sad at the thought of it.

In a sense, this sadness is a good sign. It shows that the apostles are listening to Jesus; his comments about having to suffer have registered in their minds. Nevertheless, in these encounters, St Matthew highlights Jesus’ frustration at the weak faith of his disciples, still so frail even after all they have seen. The thought of Jesus having to suffer upsets them; they still doubt his lordship, and that makes Christ’s cross even heavier. Nothing hurts a friend more than lack of trust from his friends.

Peter: In these days, Jesus was preoccupied, and we didn’t understand why. How little we understood him! And yet he never stopped instructing us, walking with us, and encouraging us. How our blindness and slowness must have pained him! But his love went deeper than his suffering. He put up with my impetuosity, and he did so with the warm smile of a friend, of a brother, or even of a father. He always stays by the side of his followers. He always finds a way to speak the truth without crushing the needy soul. In later years, remembering his example of tireless patience and merciful love became my daily sustenance…

Christ in My Life

Often following you seems to be such a chore, Lord, and I forget who you really are. You are the creator of the universe, the all-knowing God, the Savior and Redeemer. And you have deigned to look at me, to invite me to follow you, to serve you and work for your Kingdom, just as you invited your first apostles. You want to walk with me, to share my life, to lead me to the fullness of life. Thank you, Lord; never let me be separated from you…

Bless the pope, Lord. Bless the bishops. I believe in you, and I believe in your promise to be with your Church until the end of time. I want to build up the Church. Teach me love it as you do. Grant saintly priests to the world. Give wisdom and fortitude to everyone in the Church. Help me to see all things with the eyes of faith. We are weak, but you are strong; when we are weak, then we are strong in you…

Sometimes I have such shortsighted vision. You are the Lord of life and history. You are guiding all human lives and all human events. Nothing escapes your omniscience and omnipotence. And you have given me a job to do in this grand plan of salvation. I want to do it. And with you, I can. Increase my faith, and nothing will be impossible for me…

Yours in Christ, Father John Bartunek, LC, STL

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^[1] Some manuscripts add a line to this sentence: “But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.” The official Catholic Bible (the New Vulgate) does not include this line here, though some other translations do.