Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BOAKYE YEBOAH

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF KUMASI, GHANA.

ENTRAPMENT

Today’s gospel passage has informed this choice of theme. Entrapment is the action of tricking someone into committing a crime in order to secure their prosecution. The inspired writer in today’s gospel passage opens his account with these words: “The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech…” One may ask the reason for this entrapment. For three Sunday now, Jesus has used three parables to plainly indict the orthodox Jewish leaders. In the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32), the Jewish leaders appear under the guise of the unsatisfactory son who did not do his father’s will. In the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-46), they are the wicked tenants. In the parable of the king’s feast (Matthew 22:1-14), they are the condemned guests.

Now we see the Jewish leaders launching their counterattack; and they do so by directing at Jesus carefully formulated questions. They ask these questions in public, while crowd looks on and listens, and their aim is to make Jesus discredit himself by his own words in the presence of the people.

Usually, some people love setting traps for their enemies in public so that their fall and disgrace will be visible for all to see. For the Jewish authorities, since Jesus disgraced them in public with those three parables, they wanted to pay him back in similar fashion. They went for an entrapment which could put Jesus into big trouble. They choose the question of taxation. For some of you who are familiar with Jewish history, during the time of Jesus, Palestine was an occupied country. The Jews were subject to the Roman Empire and they were meant to pay taxes to Caesar. There were three regular taxes which the Roman government exacted. There was a ground tax; a man was expected to pay to the government one-tenth of the grain and one-fifth of the oil and wine which he produced; this tax was paid partly in kind, and partly in a money equivalent.

There was income tax, which was one per cent of a man’s income. There was a poll tax; this tax had to be paid by every male person from the age of fourteen to the age of sixty-five, and by every female person from the age of twelve to sixty-five; it amounted to one denarius.

The question which the Pharisees asked set Jesus in a very real dilemma. If he said that it was unlawful to pay the tax, they would promptly report him to the Roman government officials as a seditious person, and his arrest would certainly follow. If he said that it was lawful to pay the tax, he would stand discredited in the eyes of many of the people. Not only did the people resent the tax as everyone resents taxation; they resented it even more for religious reasons. To the Jews, God was the only king, their nation was a theocracy, and so, to pay tax to an earthly king was to admit the validity of his kingship and thereby to insult God. Therefore, the more fanatical of the Jews insisted that any tax paid to a foreign king was necessarily wrong.

Whichever way Jesus might answer – so his questioners thought – he would lay himself open to trouble. The seriousness of this attack is shown by the fact that the Pharisees and the Herodians combined to make it, for normally these two parties were in bitter opposition. The Pharisees were the supremely orthodox, who resented the payment of the tax to a foreign king as an infringement of the divine right of God. The Herodians took the part of Herod, the king of Galilee, who owed his power to the Romans. They worked hand in glove with them. The Pharisees and the Herodians were strange bedfellows indeed: their differences were for the moment forgotten in a common hatred of Jesus and a common desire to eliminate him.

Jesus proved to them that day that he was the author of wisdom. His answer shocked them, and the crowd was impressed. If you want to escape from the traps of your enemies you need Jesus, else you can be in trouble.

In our world today, we are surrounded by a lot of entrapments. If you are a young person reading this reflection, please note some of the following:

• Carnal passions

Carnal passion is something that people need to be very careful with if they dream or plan to live a meaningful life. As much as the lives of Samson, David and other biblical figures were laced with promise and divine blessings, everything was cut short when they fell into the entrapment of carnal desires. It is believed that in our world today, some people do not engage in any meaningful work but use their attractiveness to entrap others and once they get them under their trap, they blackmail and milk them for the rest of their lives. Jesus was entrapped with the laws on Roman taxation but you need to watch carnal passions.

• Passion for wealth

Secondly, I would like to warn the young to be watchful of the entrapment of quick wealth. Money, the bible says is the root of all evil. One need to watch this also.

• Passion for positions/recognition

Another is the entrapment of positions or recognition. The devil uses this trap to get many people. One should remember the temptation story of Jesus. The devil wanted to use power and positions of recognition to entrap Jesus, but he couldn’t. Do not allow the devil to entrap you.

May God help his children as they battle everyday with various forms of entrapments. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.