I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them

 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.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

- Mark 11:12-26

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the disciples drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

 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.  This fig tree had sprouted an early full foliage, indicating a first crop of fruit.  But it had not borne any fruit.  Jesus' condemnation is for this lack of bearing fruit, and is considered to be a spiritual teaching.  The fig tree in Scripture is often a symbol of Israel (Hosea 9:10).  This is the image of a spiritually beautiful appearance, but without fruitfulness.  The Kingdom will be taken away from Israel and given to another people, who are called to bear spiritual fruit (see Matthew 21:43; Galatians 5:22-23).  It is related to Christ's Triumphal Entry in yesterday's reading, His welcome into Jerusalem as worldly king:  nationalism as determiner of the elect will not be the key to this Kingdom.  Rather true spiritual fruitfulness will be its currency.

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.  Those who bought and sold are those trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices in the temple.  The money changers would trade Roman coins for Jewish coins -- since Roman coins bore the image of Caesar and were therefore considered to be defiling in the temple.  My study bible says that the cleansing of the temple points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered a temple of God, it tells us (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), it is a sign also that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of "earthly" matters; that is, life and choices absent our commitment to God.  This is Jesus' first act as "Messiah" in Jerusalem.  He quotes from the prophets:  Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.

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."   Jesus' cursing and withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act.  It signifies the judgment of Israel.  It's a sign that what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13) -- the old covenant.  These apostles will establish Jesus' Church, which will ultimately be filled with Gentiles and Jews; they need assurance that they are following His will in doing so.  The vivid image of this fig tree will be indelible in their minds.

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 ties prayer and faith together.  My study bible says that while it's not recorded than an apostle literally moved a mountain, Tradition is clear that they had this authority if the need had arisen (there are stories also of certain saints making crevices appear in the mountains).  Also, all the things done by the apostles was not written down.  Beyond the literal meaning here, this promise is an illustration of the power of faith and prayer in all areas of our lives.  Theophylact says, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritual profitable things.  The tie with faith is irreversible:  it is faith that teaches us also to seek the will of  God, a humility that puts our own will subservient -- in that spirit, effective prayer becomes part of the life of one who wants what God seeks of us.  Thus, the Spirit may pray in us, teaching us "what we ought to pray for."

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."  Jesus deliberately adds this note on prayer to accompany His statement about prayer and faith.  It is also, we must note, a statement about humility.   Mutual forgiveness between people is a requirement for God's forgiveness.  We who do not forgive are not forgiven.  This is the condition of our minds and hearts in prayer, a requirement that sets the tone for the image of faith.  We give up, in effect, all things to God.

Prayer becomes a key issue immediately following Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem.  Here, on His first day in the city after the Triumphal Entry, He cleanses the temple.  But among the disciples, the discourse is focused on what their lives and His Church must be about, and what is happening during this Passion Week.  The old is giving way to the new, and the new covenant is determined by faith.  Prayer and faith are inseparable in practice and in fact.  One shores up and is an expression of the other.  Each "blooms" inside and with the other:  prayer blooms with faith, faith blooms with prayer.  One writer on contemplative prayer, Fr. Thomas Keating, calls prayer that which deepens "the pool of grace."  Jesus links prayer and faith here for us, and also His call for forgiveness as a part of prayer.  In teaching us about forgiveness, there are a couple of things we notice.  The first is that it is not necessary to wait for someone else to forgive us to take action.  It is not necessary for another person to change their minds, to mediate their behaviors, to ask for our forgiveness, or even to become a friend in any sense.  Forgiveness is about giving things up to God, even people and their behaviors.  When we practice this sort of forgiveness, we are saying that God mediates all our relationships, and we are leaving judgment to God.  Of course, as Jesus is addressing the disciples, He's also speaking about discipline within the Church -- our relationships with one another as faithful.  Thus, there is connected to prayer an even deeper sense of the pool of grace; that is, of communion in God's love.  As such, our relationships to are to be mediated by the love of God.  (Jesus will also give instructions for formal forgiveness and correction within the Church, but this addresses our action in prayer.   Forgiveness does not need to wait for correction of behavior; however, it does depend on discernment for how best we react to the offending party.)   The second thing that Jesus' teaching on mutual forgiveness teaches us is that we are always in the process of receiving and participating in an exchange.  This, in some sense, is what faith is truly all about.  It cuts to the heart of things.  We are either worldly (that is, living in some way with a sense of separation from God), or we are faithful -- living our lives within such connection or communion.  This is the tension in which we live as human beings.  When we forgive -- that is, when we give up situations and people to God for God's will and discernment in navigating our lives  -- we exchange the "worldly" for the a life of faith in which even our worldly lives are governed by this communion.  We may need to forgive a person who has done us a terrible wrong, a great injustice, even grievous injury -- but we also need to pray for guidance as to how best to live our lives with respect to that person.  To forgive does not necessitate contact, and for that matter, neither does love.  But to give up vengeance to God is always possible, to ask God's discernment for proper conduct in light of a difficult situation is always necessary.  Forgiveness does not call us to self-harm; it calls us to true sanity, discernment, and awareness.  It is the beginning of learning how to put our faith into practice and relying on God to teach us how to do that.  This becomes part and parcel of the faith that moves mountains.  It is a key component to the humility that true prayer calls us to, where we put all things before God.  It does not condone all things done to us.  Rather, it sets us free to serve God in our response, and to understand ourselves as faithful.  This is our covenant.  It is the power to make all things new.