I never liked to read this story before. I did not understand why Jesus would pronounce death on a fig tree simply because it had no fruit when it was not the time for this tree to produce fruit. It bothered me. It reminded me of the many mango trees in Honduras growing up and how I had to be patient and wait for the right season. The leaves would come, the small seeds would bloom and cover the entire tree and soon I knew the mangos would be all over the tree. In this story, though, the tree had lots of leaves, it did not have fruit. Later, I came to understand that Jesus was using the tree as an object lesson for the disciples. In the next paragraph they approached the temple and Jesus overturned the tables of those profiting from the people seeking access to God. Maybe Jesus was pointing out how dead the Temple had become, limiting access to God only for those who could afford the prices set up by the religious leaders. May we never, ever, attempt to limit God’s grace to only a certain group of people.
Both these stories can be difficult to understand without the right context, maybe we still don’t fully understand them. I bet there are incidents that happen to us or around us that do not make any sense to us. Things that are out of our control. It is difficult for us to accept and keep moving forward. Our nature is to figure out a way to process these events. Maybe that is why Jesus continued by talking about faith. If we only had faith like a mustard seed, we could move mountains.
My friends, I don’t dare try to explain the things that happen around us, but I can encourage us to grow in our faith in Jesus. His leading is gentle and kind. Today, hang tight regardless of what you cannot understand. May his abiding love surround you today!
Prayer: Jesus, I choose to follow your Way of Peace. Lead me to one person that I can love, give hope, and bring your peace to today. Amen!
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