8th Week in Ord. Time, Friday – 28th May 2021 — Gospel: Mark 11,11-26
Holistic Faith
Jesus’ cursing the fig tree and cleansing of the temple were both symbolic acts that illustrated the sad spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. In spite of its many privileges and opportunities, Israel was outwardly fruitless (the tree) and inwardly corrupt (the temple). The message is not that Jesus is impatient, but He is upset with those whom it represents. Jesus is aware that the prophets associated the fig tree with the people of Israel (Jer 8,13; 29,14; Joel 1,7; Hos 9,10.16; Nah 3,12). It was unnatural for Jesus to act in judgment, yet He acted now because the people of Israel have not produced the fruit after having seen the good things God was doing, especially through His own ministry. Further, some of the Jewish believers have missed the point of temple worship, namely to have faith in a relationship with God. Instead, they had focused on the wrong ideas, and were thinking that rituals and sacrifices were the centre of a faith relationship with God. We notice that the tree dried up “from the roots” (Mk 11,20). Symbolically due to lack of Israel’s faith, they dried up spiritually, right from the roots. Therefore Jesus used these events to teach his disciples a lesson on faith. Jesus said, “Have faith in God,” meaning, constantly trust God and live in an attitude of dependence on Him. In Jewish imagery, a mountain signifies something strong and immovable, a problem that stands in the way (Zec 4,7). By trusting in God, we can deal with the problem of fruitfulness, and remove mountainous obstacles. However, the emphasis on faith does not give a person authority to pray for miraculous powers for one’s own convenience or acclaim. Every act of faith must rest on the promise of God and His will.
