The next morning, as Jesus
returned to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to
it, and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit
from you forever!” The fig tree withered away.
As they passed by later, they
saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. Peter said to him, “Rabbi, look!
The fig tree you cursed has withered away.”
Jesus answered, “Have faith in
God. If you tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and don’t
doubt in your heart, but believe it is happening, you shall have whatever you
ask. Whatever you pray for, believe you have received it, and you shall have it.
And whenever you pray, forgive anything you have against anyone, and your
Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. But if you do not forgive,
neither will your Father in heaven forgive you.”
When he came near, he saw the
city and wept over it, saying, “If you had only known what brings peace! But
now, it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come when your enemies will
throw up a barricade against you, hem you in on every side, and dash you and
your children to the ground. They won’t leave one stone unturned, because you
didn’t recognize the time of your visitation.”
Reflection
The miracles Jesus did had a
purpose that was sometimes obvious and other times obscure. The cursed fig tree
that bore no fruit was like the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem who refused to
follow a path that would lead to peace. In the years since then, how much have
we learned about peace? Does Jesus still weep over a world that believes war
brings peace? Do you consider yourself a pacifist?
Prayer: Remove my anger and need
for vengeance, Lord, and help me be a person who works tirelessly for peace.
I was raised in a Mennonite Brethren family. Because of the nature of my father's work, we moved away from the usual Mennonite communities and were not able to attend an MB church. So, we were not part of what is considered a pacifist church body. However, the principles that our parents taught us prepared me for becoming more aligned with the non-violent resistance position. This does not mean I condemn anyone who decides to serve in the military. In fact, my husband is a Viet Nam veteran. But, for me, I want to practice what I see as the path Jesus set before us, in His teaching to love my neighbor as myself, to pray for my enemies, and do all within me to live my life aligned with the teachings of Jesus - in all aspects of life.
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