GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
For many of us, when we read through this portion of the Scriptures, we just look at Christ being asked to pay a tax and Him paying it through a miracle. But, what is this Temple Tax, which Christ and Simon end up paying? In the book of Numbers chapter 3, we see a mention of taxing the people with reference to the Tabernacle. More specifically, there was a census throughout all of Israel that was surveying all the firstborn. In this census, 22,000 Levites were called to be dedicated to the Lord, specifically, it states that “The Levites shall be Mine: I am the Lord”. Those who were in the 22,000 were exempt from paying this tax, while the rest of the firstborn, which was numbered 263, we're told to pay a tax for their redemption. Not only were these select Israelites exempt from the tax, but also they were allowed to draw near to the Tabernacle without the fear of death.
So when Christ speaks about who needs to pay a tax, the Sons of the King or others, He is now laying the groundwork for the statement which St. Peter writes in his epistle, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Instead of a small portion of the population being set apart as God’s people, all who are Faithful believers have been given this calling. This means that all of us have been permitted to draw near to the Altar of the Lord without the fear of death looming over us.
But we are not merely allowed to come here, but specifically are called to declare His praises. I understand that many of us are not gathered here, and some are afraid to draw near because of this pandemic. But through this live-stream we are still able to worship together, we are still able to declare His praises even from our homes. This call to praise God is meant for all of us no matter where we are, and we must perform this sacred task that was only given to the priests of the Old Testament and worship before this Holy Altar. This means that when Achen finishes a prayer, he doesn’t say Amen, we do; when Achen turns around to give a Trinitarian blessing, we make the sign of the Cross; when some songs or responses are to be done, we sing or chant them. It is not enough to just stand there with your thoughts going all over the place, but rather that we participate in the Divine Service. Just a quick digression, the priest is referred to as “Chief Celebrant” in this Holy Qurbana, because he is unable to do this Liturgy without us who can also be referred to as celebrants. That is why we don’t see priests doing the Holy Qurbana alone.
But returning to the main topic at hand, for those of us who are at home and watching this live-stream, this call to worship is not excluded from you either. While watching this live-stream, we should not approach this as if we are watching Sunday night football in our pajamas. I am not saying that you must dress up, but I am saying that there needs to be some sort of reverence for the service which you are participating in from afar. Also, there should be an emphasis on participating, because we should not be listening to this while performing chores around the house as if this was some sort of background music. For, “Remember, that you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”