Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.

So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. When evening had come, He went out of the city.

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."

- Mark 11:12-25

On Saturday, we read that Jesus was leading the way up to Jerusalem. He has just warned His disciples - yet again - what will happen to Him at Jerusalem. On the way out of Jericho, Bartimaeus the blind beggar sat by the road, and cried to Him, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus commanded him to be called, and He asked Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus said, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. For today's reading, the lectionary skips over the verses in Mark's Gospel that describe the events celebrated on Palm Sunday, as Jesus is welcomed into Jerusalem.

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it. In the Scriptures, a fig tree is often noted as a symbol of Israel. Here, the tree has brought forth its leaves as if it if the time to bear fruit -- but it's early, "not the season for figs." The tree therefore looks good, promising, but it bears no fruit. It is a kind of a scene of analogy to Christ as both judge and inaugurator of a new "time." In Matthew's Gospel, when John the Baptist is baptizing for repentance, he says to the leadership, "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Jesus will also re-quote similarly: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruit you will know them." This is a timeless expression of the test of religious leadership. Mark's Gospel has prepared us repeatedly as Jesus has taught the disciples what is expected of them as servants of all. Here, the figure of the fig tree prepares us for Jesus' first work in Jerusalem.

So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. When evening had come, He went out of the city. Let us consider what this teaches us about the temptations of leadership. Jesus' cleansing of the temple juxtaposes the good fruits He expected of the fig tree -- which looks so promising with its abundant foliage -- and the leadership here that is focused on money, what it can claim from the religious faithful. Perhaps our greatest weakness, even in support of a good cause, is to become focused on the material at the expense of the teaching and nurturing of the littlest ones. This is a lesson throughout the centuries which we must all take to heart. What comes first? What is servanthood in the Church and what does it really mean? What are the true fruits to bear in Jesus' terms? Let us consider the magnificence of this temple, and what is to come historically. Jesus' acts continually compel us to look at all of our institutions, and what He considers good fruit. My study bible says that Jesus acts as the King of Israel would, utterly in control. "In the light of the imagery in the account of the fig tree, the temple is all leaves and no fruit, a picture of the nation itself." Jesus quotes here from the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the Scripture quotations bear witness to the overarching theme of the reading, including the imagery of the fig tree.

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." Throughout the Gospels, and especially in Jesus' later ministry, there is a sense of a repetition in Israel's history -- destruction, conquest and the long time of exile, and Jesus' awareness of this time. (This is especially true in His quotations from Jewish Scripture, and of course His prophecy of what is to come in Jerusalem.) The Gift will be taken into all the world, in hopes of good fruits. In this light, the cursing and withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act, says my study bible. The disciples "will establish his Church, ultimately filled with Gentiles and Jews, and they need assurance that they are following His will. The fig tree will be an indelible image in their minds." Jesus then takes this time to discuss faith with His disciples.

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." Jesus demonstrated the power of faith with His prophetic act shown in the example of the fig tree. But we should take this text to heart in the light of what the apostles will be asked to do. The Church will take shape in the fuller wider world -- especially in the light of the historical events that will come in Israel. Their faith in their mission is essential. My study bible has a profound note: "This mountain probably refers to the Mount of Olives, but Jesus speaks not of its physical relocation, but of great deeds done through undoubting faith. Neither Jesus nor the disciples moved any actual mountains, but they did turn society upside down with the message of the Kingdom. We all need such faith in our struggle for full repentance and life in Christ . . . We can have assured faith in answered prayer, according to St. John Chrysostom, when we ask things worthy of the Lord and strive for holiness. Of course, human requests neither limit nor control God's omniscient freedom."

" And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." And it is also essential that we read what is tagged on to this exhortation and evocation of the power of faith: the need to practice forgiveness. In some sense, we can juxtapose this with Jesus' condemnation of the materialism in the temple that has taken the place of priority, so much so that it has overshadowed the purpose of the Law and of the Prophets, of God's intent for the people. Forgiveness is antithetical to material-minded thinking. It turns upside-down our notions of "tit for tat" or some sort of great balance sheet of what we are owed or not. Forgiveness is letting go, not seeking revenge, nor "payment" from those who have hurt us or "owe us" in some sense. It doesn't mean necessarily a reconciliation -- that we go back for more of the same treatment! But it does mean that things stand before God who is Judge; we let go of the balance sheet in our own minds and hearts and give it to God who is our Reconciler. In this way, we are sure to practice faith and prayer in the right spirit, in the right frame of mind. This is a necessity for faith, as posed here. It is a requirement for the proper attitude of prayer!

We remember that faith is a form, not of magical thinking or belief, but of trust. In this, Jesus exhorts us to trust in all things to God, even the weighing of our lives, of those whom we know and who may have hurt us or our lives in some way. All is entrusted to God: our requests and our capacity for judgment. We trust our whole perspective of life in God's hands, for God to give us good and proper judgment or discernment. This is so for ourselves as well as for others in our lives. We ask God for God's way of right-relatedness, or righteousness. In the Greek, forgiveness is "letting go." It is the antidote to limited material-mindedness. This cannot be separated from our prayer and our belief, what we truly want most in life. Many times in our popular culture we will hear about the power of forgiveness, recognized not simply by spiritual or religious teachers as part of God's grace and gift to us, but also by the modern understanding of psychology. We are freed through forgiveness. I like to think of it as a private matter between ourselves and God. How do we handle our difficulties, our pain and frustration, the things that have caused us harm? This is where we take it to God, and not simply into our own limited perspectives, which tend to see things in material terms, like the account books. So let's put the cleansing of the temple into juxtaposition with today's words from Christ about faith, prayer and forgiveness, and understand it as a part of a whole piece of cloth, the perspective of our faith. It's by no accident that we have printed on our coins, "In God we trust." We can consider that a kind of warning label, about where we put our ultimate trust, even with the deepest hurts in our lives.