For the second time Jesus warns His disciples about what is to come: His suffering, death and resurrection. We are told that the disciples are overwhelmed with grief over what Jesus says. It could be purely out of sorrow for their Master or because they were so upset themselves. This was not the kind of end they were expecting to the coming of the Messiah.

The second part of today's reading is a peculiar scene about the payment of tax by Jesus and His disciples. The passage seems to reflect a dilemma of the early Church about paying taxes to the Jewish authorities or the pagan emperor. The first dilemma solved itself with the disappearance of the Temple. The second dilemma took longer. The problem seems to have been solved by the principle laid down by Jesus elsewhere: Give to the emperor what belongs to the emperor and to God what belongs to God.

We too have to discern what is legitimately required of us by our governments and make our contribution to the needs of our society while at the same time not compromising in issues where universal principles of truth, morality and justice are the stake. Civil disobedience is sometimes not only a right but also a responsibility.