Deuteronomy 10:12-22 / Matthew 17:22-27
Small matters can become big explosive issues if not handled carefully.
Lighting a match-stick to light a candle is a small matter. Lighting a match-stick in a petrol-station is a dangerous thing.
More often than not, it is the small irritating issues that explode into raging fires because of the small-mindedness of some people.
In the gospel, the collectors of the half-shekel asked Peter, "Does your master not pay the half-shekel?"
But from what Jesus said, we get to know that He didn't have to pay the half-shekel.
Why was it that the collectors were asking from Him then? There could be many reasons, one of which could be that they were trying to find trouble with Him so that they could use something against Him.
Whatever it was, Jesus did not want to have trouble with those people nor take their bait. He rather let the fish do it, and the coin in the mouth of the fish solved the problem.
For Jesus it was a small matter and that small coin solved the problem.
Neither does Jesus want us to get entangled with small petty issues. He will provide the simple solutions to these small issues for us.
What Jesus wants of us is what Moses told the people in the 1st reading: to fear the Lord our God, to follow all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord our God with all our heart and all our soul.
Those are the big issues that we must pay attention to. If we neglect those big issues, then the small irritating issues will become explosive and destructive.