Let me clarify a point very carefully before I go on. When the Lord said, “You are going to catch a fish and you will see a coin inside the mouth of the fish. Therefore, at that point, pay the tax.” That does not refer to any miraculous catch. It is not a miracle. What it actually means is this. You have a debt to pay, you have a loan to pay, you have a tax to pay. If you have an obligation, go to the sea and fish for the whole day, you will have enough money to pay your loan, to pay your debts, to pay your tax. In other words, this Gospel is not about a miraculous catch of a fish with a coin inside the mouth. This gospel is about hard work.
What the Lord says is if we have debts to pay, work so that we will be able to pay them. Don’t just ask me for a miracle. Don’t just pray the rosary and ask for a miracle so that we will be able to pay our debt. Don’t just go to Mass. Don’t just go to the Adoration Chapel and kneel 24 hours a day. Don’t wait for the fish to land on our lap with a coin inside its mouth. What it means is WORK HARD! What the Lord says is very simply what we have learned at home since our youth, “God helps those who help themselves.”
Miracles do happen, but what is important to remember is we must not abuse miracles. We must not ask for a miracle when hard work can do it. We must not ask God to do it if through our own hard work we can achieve our goals. We must not just ask the Lord for a job then watch television all day long, sipping our soft drink, and expecting the Lord to give us a job. We must do our work. Unfortunately, it is so simple and yet so difficult. While we have been repeatedly told that we must work hard and work glorifies God, we are a people with original sin, tending toward laziness.
WORK AND MIRACLE
Mt. 17:24-26
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