My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,

'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise'?"

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

- Matthew 21:12-22

Yesterday, we read that when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "   So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

  Then Jesus went into the temple of God and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "  My study bible explains:  "Those who bought and sold in the temple traded in animals used for sacrifices.  The money changers were needed to provide currency acceptable to the temple, because Roman coins bearing the head of Caesar were considered defiling.  When Jesus sees that worship has become commercialized, He acts against the abuses, boldly overturning the tables and casting the tradesmen out.  The cleansing of the temple is seen as an image of the cleansing of our souls."

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,  'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"  Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.  We look at those who come to Jesus in the temple, and a gift freely bestowed, as a contrast to His condemnation of the commercialization in the temple.  The leadership, who in some sense are representing a very material-minded perspective, can only feel envy, and hence indignation.  The quotation Jesus refers to is from Psalm 8:2.

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."   Immediately the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"   My study bible explains that the fig tree is a symbol of prosperity and peace, which here withers because of fruitlessness.  It calls this is a prophetic act, for after three years of preaching, teaching and healing, the establishment leadership are destitute of spiritual fruit; therefore, He withers them with His reproach.  It notes, "He curses the tree to warn of the curse on those who will crucify Him.  He submits Himself willingly to the Cross; He is the Suffering Servant who yields to their torture."

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  My study bible tells us:  "Jesus does not expect His disciples literally to move mountains, but this extravagant image accurately depicts the astonishing power of undoubting faith . . . To receive whatever things you ask in prayer, one must have the faith and discernment to ask for what is in accordance with God's will.  God cannot be manipulated by our prayers."

It's interesting to take a look at the themes put together in the reading for today:  the materialism in the temple which Jesus condemns, the lame and and blind who come for help and healing -- and the praise that comes out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants that becomes strength to silence the enemy and avenger.  There is the envy and indignation of the leadership which is blind to what is good in Jesus and in His ministry.  We pair this with the withering of the fruitless fig tree, and Jesus' testimony about the power of faith.  Along with cleansing of the temple, the condemnation of materialism and the material perspective of the leadership that condemns Jesus' followers, we have the true fruits of faith:  the strength of the weak who praise God, the power of their praises, the faith that can move mountains.  We contrast virtues -- the things of God -- with the material emphasis Jesus is condemning by cleansing the temple.  Together with these current readings in Matthew's Gospel, the lectionary has been giving us sections of the Epistles of Peter.  St. Peter tells us about faith and fruitfulness:   "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ"  (2 Peter 1:5-8).  I've emphasized the word "add" because he's telling us about fruitfulness, and it's important to note how St. Peter's understanding of fruitfulness is in such contrast with the material prosperity of the temple.  This fruitfulness of faith has nothing do with what we can add up, and everything to do with the intangibles that make up what it is to truly become a human being in the model of Christ:  virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and finally the crown which is love.  These are the fruits Jesus has taught His apostle, and that the apostle passes on to us.  So St. Peter makes sense of today's passage when, in some sense, the mountain that is moved is that which is within ourselves -- the transformation that takes place in this kind of addition.  Fruitfulness surely has nothing to do with material prosperity in this picture and contrasts to mere "good deeds," but rather in essence consists of the things that we become -- the things which we add to our faith.  Without these, St. Peter goes on to say, a believer is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten salvation.  Let us consider what it is to be truly fruitful in this model, and what is not.  How do you add to your faith?  What are the things -- the treasures -- that make you one of St. Peter's living stones?