Fig Tree and Temple

Gospel: Mark 11: 11-26

The fig tree exists in order to produce figs so that other beings may be nourished by its fruit.  When a fruit tree no longer produces fruit, a farmer does not waste space in his orchard by keeping it.  The tree is cut down and its wood used for fuel to provide warmth or fire for cooking.  It is the life cycle of every tree that at some point it will cease to bear fruit and eventually be used for firewood, and its place in the orchard will be taken over by another new tree that will bear fruit.

The same pattern exists in organized religion, as today's Gospel portion alludes.  The temple was no longer nourishing people.  It became an end in itself to make money and look pretty, as many houses of worship in our time do.  Yet, they produce no nourishment for people's bodies or souls.  And so they close and their space is used for other purposes, and people will seek and find nourishment elsewhere for the life of the spirit.  

So, we need not be surprised at the decline of religion and the plethora of closed houses of worship.  When their only purpose is to raise money so that the clergy can live the lifestyle of comfort to which they have grown accustomed, when they no longer nourish and meet the spiritual needs of the people, then it is time for their removal from the orchard and their replacement by those who will provide that nourishment.  It is the way of all things.

I Want to See

Gospel: Mark 10: 46-52 

Jesus is making his way toward Jerusalem where he will face arrest, trial, torture, and execution.  His final stop along the way is the city of Jericho, where a blind man calls out to him for help.  People try to prevent the encounter, as in so many other instances, but Jesus insists on meeting him.  The blind man, named Bartimaeus comes forward, and Jesus asks him, What do you want me to do for you?  Though it seems obvious, Bartimaeus replies, I want to see.

The question may seem obvious, but Jesus is asking him - and us - Do you really want to see what is to come?  My own disciples do not want to see it.  I have been trying to tell them what is coming: my arrest, trial, torture, and execution.  They would rather argue about who is more important among them than this reality to come.  So, I ask you again: what do you want me to do for you?  Do you really want to see these events of the passion?

To his credit, Bartimaeus picks up his things and follows the Lord onward to Jerusalem.  In his first days of having eyesight he will see the drama of redemption.  When we have our spiritual blindness removed from us, this same fundamental kerygma of our faith should be the first thing we see:  the reality that I am a sinner, the reality that Jesus has provided a way for me out of that predicament, and that it is my role as a disciple, like Bartimaeus, to gather my things and follow the Lord on his way.  

Cognitive Dissonance

Gospel: Mark 10: 32-45

Jesus pulls aside the twelve and tells them all that is going to happen to him in a few short weeks:  arrest, betrayal, trial, torture, and execution - but he will rise from the dead.  One can imagine a variety of ways to respond to hearing this information.  Unlikely on that list is the way in which the twelve react to the announcement.  They proceed to argue among themselves who is the most important among Jesus' followers and who will have the seats of prominence in the kingdom.  

And yet this reaction of the disciples has become the dominant Christian activity ever since.  And ever since Jesus has continued to remind us that discipleship is about service to others, not being served and concerning oneself with power, influence, and wealth.  We can readily discern who authentic disciples of the Lord Jesus are and who are frauds based on the criteria of this passage.  Those serving others are following the Lord; those obsessed with power and influence are frauds.

Christian leaders are often busy on social media attempting to show us how they are about serving others by posting about themselves at some service project, as if this were their day to day activity when more likely it is a photo op designed to create a positive image of themselves in others so they may have more power and influence.  Let us be about the work of serving others without fanfare or self-promotion, rejecting the temptations to power, influence, and wealth.