My younger brother has an inspiring joke based on the gospel reading today.
In his younger days, he learned Japanese. Nowadays, his Japanese is a bit rusty. So, whenever we ask him anything about the language, he would precede his answer with the following joke:
Render therefore unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto teachers what is teachers' (Matthew 22:21).
What great wisdom!
For us Chinese, we recognize 5 elements that make up what we are: Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Relatives and teachers. Heaven gives us our human nature and potential. Earth nourishes our body. Emperor gives us protection, territory and our identity. Parents and relatives weave the social network in which we grow and move about, and teachers help us know the truth. Of course, as Christians, we know that God provides us all.
In Chinese mythology, there is a fascinating tragedy about giving to parents what belongs to parents. It is found in the epic "The Knighting of the deities封神榜". The epic is about the overthrowing of the Xiang 商 Dynasty after which, the heroes were deified one by one. After all, Chinese are very good at Deification Movements.
One of those heroes was General Li Qing 李靖, whose name appears again in novels of later generations. He served the Xiang Dynasty but later rebelled and joined the righteous army to fight against the tyrant he had previously served.
His third son is the famous mighty but mischievous Naja 哪叱. His might turned out to be his curse. His parents could not manage him and in the end, he killed the prince of the Dragon Emperor of the Eastern Sea. Unable to reprimand Naja, the matter was brought before the Heavenly Palace. Of course, Naja was defeated and had to lay down his life to repay his crime. But Naja was a pious son. So, he returned his flesh and soft tissues to his mother and his skeleton to his father and died. Destiny had it that his soul was given a second chance. A guru fairy made him incarnate into lotus root and Naja resurrected into a good boy again. He fought alongside his father in the revolution against the tyrant and gained a seat in the Heavenly Palace. The tragedy has a happy ending.
This myth brings up an important theme. We don't just give back what belongs to the rightful owner. It is not enough to return just our flesh to our mother and bones to our father. More is demanded. In modern economics term, repayment must be made, including the interest. Therefore, it is Chinese customs to return a borrowed bowl with some food, and even a red packet literally on top of the food, to show our gratitude and good wish for the convenience and favour rendered by our neighbour and friends.
Many people know the gospel reading today. Asking whether it was (ritually) legal to pay the Roman tax was a trap which Jesus easily saw through. I wonder how many of us know another taxing story about Jesus. It can be found in Matthew 17:24-27. This story is more mythical. It seems to prove that Jesus was the Son of God and therefore did not have to pay the half-shekel tax. Yet, Simon Peter also benefited and did not have to pay from his own pocket. So, there must be other meanings to be uncovered. I can only leave this for future meditation. Let me return to the trap.
Paying tax or half-shekel is actually paying interest. If we give back our life to Caesar, to parents or to God, we will no longer be able to pay anything in the future. Therefore, giving our life back is the last repayment. Anything prior to that is partial principal plus interest. No matter what, we must repay in our life. Reading this together with the gospel reading about forgiving two weeks ago, we know that we will never be able to repay the principal to God in full.
Paying tax to Caesar is easy to follow because it is something tangible. We may actually repay in money, or in jury service, in voting or standing in election, in taking to the street to voice our opinions, in helping to fight crime etc. However, what does paying to God mean? What currency is God using, the half-shekel?
I believe charity is the currency of God. There is no law stipulating blood donation. But I believe it is a grace of God if I can donate blood or organs again. As a diabetes, I cannot and I am not supposed to be a recipient of organ transplant too because it would be a waste of the organ. The hospital authority would give it to other patients in whose bodies the organ might have a better chance to survive and to serve longer. I can only share with my students how proud I was to be a one-gallon donor before and my regret for not being able to do so now. Since blood donation is out of question, I have to look elsewhere to pay tax to God.
Dear Lord, may my tax find favour in Your eyes. May my eyes be open to see more opportunities to repay You. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment