When Jesus and his disciples left Bethany the next morning, he was hungry. From a distance Jesus saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went to see if there were any figs on the tree. But there were not any, because it wasn’t the season for figs. So Jesus said to the tree, “Never again will anyone eat fruit from this tree!” The disciples heard him say this.
After Jesus and his disciples reached Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began chasing out everyone who was selling and buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus would not let anyone carry things through the temple. Then he taught the people and said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship for all nations.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”
The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses heard what Jesus said, and they started looking for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.
That evening, Jesus and the disciples went outside the city.
As the disciples walked past the fig tree the next morning, they noticed that it was completely dried up, roots and all. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree. Then Peter said, “Teacher, look! The tree you put a curse on has dried up.” Jesus told his disciples: Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.
Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.
Observation:
One of the teaching techniques Mark uses in his gospel is a sort of sandwich device, in which a story is interrupted by another story. In this case,the story is about an unfrutiful fig tree that Jesus curses. It is interrupted by a protest in the temple marketplace. Mark wants to say that these stories interpret one another somehow. In this case, the unfruitful fig tree is a reference to the temple market place. And the curse on it is like Jesus' protest in the temple. Jesus means that human institutions can become like unfrutiful trees. And when they do, cut them down. The temple had become a corrupt business in which the royal priesthood became wealthy on the backs of religious donors. They had to pay temple taxes to keep it running. The selling of animals for the ritual sacrifices was becoming a massive market place for all kinds of transactions. Jesus condemned these practices because the temple was meant to be a place of communion with God and not a dehumanizing business transaction. Somewhere along the way, the true intention of the temple was distorted or even abandoned because of greed and compulsion. But Jesus invites his disciples into a life of forgiving prayer. This was the heart of the temple's function, anyway. Forgiveness of sins.
Application:
When religion becomes a stale list of "have-to's" and requirements to complete, it is as good as dead. I think a lot of people have abandoned religious faith because all they see is a religion of "shoulds" and duties. They hear churches asking for money to pay salaries and building maintenance costs. People become dollar signs. Churches host events, but fail to build relationships with anyone. Churches do transactional ministry for the "less fortunate", providing food or clothing or money for bills without any interest in the person- without empathy, affection, or care. You can go to a church today and be unseen, unnoticed, anonymous. This is the kind of religion Jesus protests against. And we should, too.
I hate that we count the number of people in our worship attendance and the amount of income we receive as signs of vitality or worth as a congregation. I hate that I think this way sometimes myself.
The true sign of a faith community's health is its fruit. We are meant to live fruitful lives that produce the things that give life. Paul called them the fruit of the spirit---love, peace, joy, patience. kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,self-discipline. We are made to grow in our understanding and practice of these characteristics. Jesus intends for people to live in communion with God and one another. Our relationship with God is not meant to be like a transaction. But sometimes we treat it that way. This is why forgiveness is so important. Forgiveness in our hearts changes hostility into peace. Forgiveness embraces the one who hurt us. Forgiveness releases us from the need to retaliate. Forgiveness is the beginning of communion. Forgiveness restores the relationship and makes us family to one another again. That is the heart of religion, to bring the human family together again. Like a single tree bearing fruit for the world to enjoy.
Prayer:
Lord, you despise religion that is dehumanizing, transactional, and greedy. Forgive us. And make us fruitful. Bring your children together in your way of peace. Amen.
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