My thoughts on Friday, May 28, 2021:
The weather changed rapidly today. It cooled down, the temperature dropped below 5 Celsius degrees. The sky is hidden behind the clouds. At times, the wind blows and the streams of a rainstorm are splashing outside the window like a waterfall. And then comes silence again. I thought, maybe I can quickly gather some greens from the garden. I rushed out of the house for a few minutes to pick chives for breakfast, just to be caught by the heavy rain. It started over its own symphony. It is still falling down on the plants like a curse on the fig tree (Gospel of Mark 11: 11-25).
Raindrops can pierce the bones like a sharp dagger. They take life from them, paralyze the soul. The frozen heart slips into lethargy and then dies quickly, surprisingly exactly like a rich in foliage fig tree died over the night after Jesus said the WORD.
This weather set my imagination somehow so catastrophic at the moment. Also, it provoked me to take a different look and delve into today's Gospel.
To better understand the situation, I went back to the beginning of the chapter: It starts with the description we read during our Palm Sunday: a solemn procession through Jerusalem. Jesus enters the temple, watches everything, and because it is late, He returns to Bethany for the night. The next morning, without breakfast - because He is hungry, He goes to Jerusalem again. As we read in Mark 11, 13-14:
“Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then HE SAID to the tree, “MAY NO ONE EVER EAT FRUIT FROM YOU AGAIN.” And his disciples heard him say it.
Why, even though it was not the season for mature figs, Jesus goes to the tree and checks that! For years I have thought to myself: “Why?” Is this tree at fault?
I understand if it was the full season, okay, even the beginning of the season, but "it wasn't the time for figs"!
For now, I am trying to imagine literally the whole situation described by saint Mark. Let’s go with Jesus to the temple. Here we see unexpected shocking action! Jesus' anger reaches its peak: " On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
And here are some very important words, WORDS that explain the event: “And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.” (Mark 11, 15-17)
For the first time, I started looking for a deeper explanation.
Once I heard
Therefore, it is very important to connect and know each other. So: “Is it not written”- then, where is it written? Since the Lord Jesus did not name the author of these words, the audience must have known where it is written.
Well, through Jeremiah 7:11, God warned His people:
“Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.”
And the charges were terrible! Read Jeremiah 7, the entire chapter, and you will see and understand for yourself, just as the scribes knew what it was about!
When the Lord Jesus revealed the TRUTH to the crowd, the priests got scared and wanted to kill Him. Why were they scared? Because they knew what was hidden from the rest, and that was not what they were called to do!
GOD KNOWS THE DEPTHS OF PEOPLE'S HEARTS AND IS ALWAYS WITH US. He sees everything and we don't. God knows what is destroying our life! "And when evening came, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city." (Mark11,19) They returned the same road to Bethany, passed the Mount of Olives and Bethphage, and of course - the fig tree. Only now there was no trace of life in it!
To the astonished apostles, seeing that in one day the WORD thrown on the fig tree was fulfilled, in a different tone Jesus briefly answer: "Have faith in God!"
What's the order in this instruction?
First comes faith in God, then FORGIVENESS, and then we can ask in prayer.
For that final statement, we learn why the whole fig-tree situation was needed in this scenario.
Jesus established an example of the power of strong faith in a pure heart not only to His disciples. He also connected the consequences of evil and His anger at the temple in Jerusalem. We don’t know the Jewish history and mentality as Jesus did and people from His time. What may seem still hidden for us, it was not for the disciples who knew the Old Testament.
A tree in many places in the Old and New Testament represents a man. The fig tree is me, it is you, it is Israel, the chosen people! The Lord Jesus repeated several times:
"You did not choose me..."
I don't want to be like this fig tree with lush foliage but no trace of fruit. I don't want to be a tree that promises well and it seems to be in full swing, in the process but there is no fruit at the end. I do not want to live in a lie and illusion about myself and not flourishing, not live what I preach. A path like that threatens to live in fear and a curse, without LOVE. THIS IS HELL ON EARTH! I also cannot stand aside and be silent when so much evil and lies are called good and truth! I cannot pretend that it is acceptable. "History goes on and on and is a teacher of life." The proverbs did not come from anything. Bible stories are selected to teach us not only about historical facts but also to teach each generation about timeless values.
The task of the tree is to bear fruit. Each ripe fruit has many nutritional benefits. The fruit feeds the hungry.
Since God has chosen us and we have become His children through baptism, our task is also to "bear fruit", feed the hungry who are thirsty to know Him, and bring "all nations to the house of prayer."
How? Hmmm… this is also what the Lord Jesus teaches and preaches. This is our duty to know-how.
Then, what is it going to happen, if not? The fate of the fig tree is only one illustration. The warnings were given by Jeremiah 8 and Hosea 9, and every prophet sent by God to people He loves so dearly. I recommend reading Jeremiah and Hosea, John the Baptist at least. Times like ours have happened more than once in human history. As parents, we also experience the rebellion of children, or we ourselves were or are rebellious children and know that experience. We can always stop, convert, change our minds.
We can always ask for forgiveness, forgive and love in the freedom of choice. Let Jesus do that transformation!
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