For the Love of Fig Trees - August 18

Today’s Readings -  Psalm 106:1-18; 2 Samuel 17:24-18:8; Acts 22:30-23:11; Mark 11:12-26

For as long as I can remember I’ve had trouble with the gospel passage for today. You see since I was very young some of my fondest memories are of the fig trees in my life. We had a huge fig tree in the corner of our back yard where I lived until the second grade. Its branches reached down to the ground and way up into the sky, arching over our fence. I could climb it, hide in its leafy shadows and eat anything the birds didn’t get to first. Whatever was left my mother would make into fig preserves, which I also loved.

The house I lived in while I was student at UGA had a huge fig tree, too. When they would come ripe, I could pick a grocery bag full each day, until they were all gone. Not long after we moved into the house where we live now, we planted one in our backyard. It was just a little stick of a tree when we planted it and now its branches are reaching over our back fence and most summers there are enough figs to make preserves.  One summer we traded figs for eggs with a neighbor who has chickens. Another summer I was in the hospital when they came ripe, and our neighbor picked them and preserved them for me – now that’s a gift of love. Stan can spot a wild turkey in a field from as far away as the length of several football fields, but my ability to spot a fig tree rivals that. I have a true affinity and love for those beautiful trees.

Now, to the point of this parable. I know Jesus isn’t just picking on fig trees. He’s trying to teach his disciples the power of faith; faith or trust in God and the power that comes from earnest true belief in the power of prayer. I’ve always been told that the true power that comes from prayer is how prayer changes us. It helps us to understand our dependence on God and the endless infinite possibilities born of faith. It provides us with time for reflection on being the hands and feet of Christ and our need for God’s presence in all we attempt. It helps us to see how what we pray for might not be what is actually needed. God sees our needs much more clearly than we ever could.

Jesus emphasizes the priority prayer should take in our lives even over and above our self-interests and greed for prosperity and wealth. Above all Jesus stresses that as we pray, we pray for those whom we need to forgive, so that we might be forgiven by our father in Heaven.

Of course, I realize I’m missing the point of this passage but seriously, why couldn’t Jesus have chosen a date palm instead? I could easily have gotten over that. I guess it’s time for me to forgive Jesus for his harsh treatment of that fig tree, I’m sure I’ve done much worse and heaven knows he’s forgiven me.

Faithfully,

Sally+

Questions for Reflection and Challenge - How often do you take time to be still and quiet in the presence of God? What does prayer look like for you? Prayer can be anything you need it to be. When was the last time you stepped back and looked at your life? If you did that today, what might you see? How might prayer change your life?