Hungry

"It was not the season for figs," Mark 11:13.

So, what's a hungry Jesus to do with the leafed-out, figless tree? He curses it. Next day it's withered away to its roots. Nobody ever eats from it again. (That never seemed quite fair to me.) Surely, there's a lesson here for the discerning. Well, yes, there is a lesson (after all, this is Jesus we're talking about!), and here it is: Have faith so that whenever you pray and have anything against anyone, forgive them. That's what Jesus said was the moral to the story. Hmm. So what's the connection between an unseasoned fig tree, faith, and forgiveness? Well, as the textbooks often say about problems the authors didn't want to explain: Let that be an exercise for the student to determine. But the point remains. To receive God's forgiveness, one must forgive others. Believe it.

When we meet with a brother or sister today, we forgive any wrongs we hold against the other, or against others. We believe God will likewise forgive us. And, together, we give thanks for Jesus' cleansing word.