Tilapia: St. Peter's Fish

~~~ Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin ~~~
~~~ Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28C ~~~ Psalm 148 ~~~ Matthew 17:22-27 ~~~

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.

The prophet Ezekiel shares with us
his magnificent vision of the glory of God.
There are storms, flashing fires, human like creatures
with large powerful wings, roaring waters,
and the voice of the Almighty.

Just yesterday we heard from the book of Kings
that the Lord was in the tiny whisper.
So which is it? Is God small as a whisper or mighty as a fire storm?
Or is it possible that he exists in all of these elements? 

Ezekiel goes on to describe the beauty
 of the throne looking like sapphire.
All of this as if radiating from this figure,
filled the sky with the brilliant colors of the rainbow.

Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

Our challenge today is to open our eyes to where ever God
makes his presence known...be it in the quietness of a whisper
or in the arc of colors brushed across the sky.

The gospel today follows the account of the Transfiguration, 

when Jesus reveals himself in the fullness of his glory.
While this account is nothing like Ezekiel's vision
it gives us a picture of the magnificence of the glory of God.

The question about who is obliged to pay the taxes
comes up in this chapter of Matthew
because ultimately Jesus will pay the price for all of us.

We have been freely brought into this kingdom.
It is tax free for all of eternity.
 Jesus does not wish to abolish the laws, as we know,
so he pays the required tax doubling the amount.

He pays with the miracle of the gold coin taken
 from the mouth of a fish.

This is not one of the major miracles preformed by Jesus,
but one rich for discussion.
When do you think the coin was actually
placed into the mouth of the fish?
How did Jesus know exactly which fish
 Peter would catch?

Jess performed this miracle for one main purpose,
...that we may not offend them...

This miracle confirms Jesus acts with the blessing of the Father.
He has dominion even over the fish the Peter would catch.

This miracle confirms for the apostles that
Jesus is one with the Father...
he is all powerful.

We are blessed with an all powerful...
all knowing God who calls us to be a part of his Kingdom.
Jesus supersedes all of our small minded expectations
on most occasions.
~~~Peace~~~

Here is something interesting about this fish story.
Tilapia were a common fish caught in this sea.
Tilapia were known to carry their young in their mouth for protection.

It was not uncommon for them to also have other objects
caught in their mouth, sometimes even shiny objects.
Perhaps even just the right coin...
Peter would not have thought this directive
 from Jesus to be too strange after all.