Matthew 17 contains the perplexing miracle of Peter being told by Jesus to catch a fish, find a coin in its mouth and pay the temple tax. It sounds for all the world like one of those childish miracle stories where Jesus does the odd trick with divine power. Various approaches to this story try to reduce its oddity, or its embarrassing triviality – was it a round about way of saying Peter was playfully asked by Jesus to go and do what he knew best, catch fish, and with the proceeds pay the tax. Hardly.
Hauerwas doesn’t flinch from seeing this story as an embarrassing, demanding, paradigm-shifting story. It reveals the required mindset to live in the Kingdom of God. If you can’t believe such a story of the providence of God, how will you believe the harder story of the meek inheriting the earth, or peacemakers as the true children of God. here is Hauerwas:
Christians rightly desire to do great things in service to God and in service to the world. But too often Christians think such service must insure the desired outcome. We simply do not believe that we can risk fishing for a fish with a coin in its mouth. Yet no account of the Christian desire to live at peace with our neighbour, who may be also our enemy, is intelligible if Christians no longer trust that God can and will help us catch fish with coins in their mouths. No account of Christian nonviolence is intelligible that does not require, as well as depend on, miracle. Christian discipleship entails our trusting that God has given and will continue to give all that we need to be faithful. (Page 159)
A good friend with a combative approach to most discussions, often finishes her putting of her case with an affectionately pugnacious question, "So what do you think of that then?"
Hmmmmm?
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