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

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all 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 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 Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethpage, 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 drove out all 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 said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "   Those who bought and sold were trading in live animals for sacrifices in the temple.  It is just before Passover.  The money changers were trading Roman coins for Jewish coins.  This is because Roman coins bore the image of Caesar, worshiped as a god, and so were considered to be defiling in the temple.  Jesus "cleanses" the temple by doing what He does, for which He will be challenged upon the issue of His authority to do so.  My study bible says that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  Each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19).  This cleansing of the temple by Jesus is therefore also a sign that our hearts and minds should be cleansed of earthly matters, focused on our place in life as such temples.  Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.

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.  My study bible says that we are called to glorify Christ in the same spirit of pure love and praise as the children crying out in the temple.  It adds that, in contrast to the children, the adults' praise carried earthly expectations and agendas -- which, when left unfulfilled, led them to rebel against Jesus just five days later (27:20-23).  Jesus here quotes from Psalm 8:2.  The chief priests and scribes are indignant because Jesus not only receives pure praise but also has cleansed the temple, something which only the Messiah could do.  The children name Christ as Messiah by praising Him with "Hosanna" (meaning, "Save, we pray" and fitting for a Deliverer or a Messiah) and calling Him the Son of David, a title for the Messiah or king.

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.   The fig tree is a symbol of both prosperity and peace.  It withers because it is fruitless.  My study bible calls this a prophetic act.  After three years of Christ's preaching, teaching, and healing, both the leaders and the crowds were destitute of spiritual fruit.  In the tradition of the prophets, they don't "turn back" and listen.  He curses the tree also, my study bible says, to warn those in every generation of what will befall anyone who fails to listen to His message.

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."   This is not the first time Jesus has used the example of moving a mountain as an expression of the power of faith and prayer -- see also 17:20.    My study bible notes that while it's not recorded than an apostle literally moved a mountain, the Fathers are clear that they did have this authority if the need had arisen.  There are stories of certain saints who did make crevices appear in mountains.  Moreover, not all the things done by the apostles were written down.  Beyond its literal meaning, Jesus' promise is an illustration of the power of faith and prayer in all areas of life.  Theophan comments, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritually profitable things.

What is the power of prayer?  What is the remarkable thing that Jesus brings into the world?  Certainly prayer has existed in manifold form before and after Jesus.  The Psalms, we know, are quoted by Jesus, and He prays from the Psalms on the Cross (see Mark 15:34 and Psalm 22:1, Luke 23:46 and Psalm 31:5).  At the Last Supper, Jesus and the disciples will sing a hymn from the Psalms (likely Psalms 113-118).  Jesus gives us the prayer called the Our Father or the Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 6:9-13).  Jesus says earlier that "if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you" (17:20).  Here, He tells us, "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."    Note the word "assuredly."  This is a solemn promise.  So what are we to understand of this mustard seed and faith?  In today's reading, Jesus commits an act -- the cleansing of the temple -- that requires faith that He has the authority to do such things.  The children with pure hearts participate in this faith when they praise Him.  He withers the fig tree in a prophetic act, with a power that is vested in the power of faith.  He Himself links up faith with the withering of the fig tree.  It is in that context that He speaks of the faith to move mountains, and the prayer that links with faith.  What we understand about all this dialogue and these events is that faith is something in which we choose to participate.  It is a sort of field into which we tap -- the field of God's presence and power at work in the world, the action of the Spirit, the energies of God's mercy.  Prayer is the method whereby we do so, the most effective way of participation and growth in this field of grace and power.  I would suggest that Jesus' words about faithful prayer teach us about prayer while we participate in this grace through faith -- not a list of what we want if we only somehow convince ourselves we'll get it.  Perhaps with this in mind we should remember what He says:  "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  There is an ancient saying about God that remains true in our Christian faith:  "God is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere."  It is this infinite circle whose center is everywhere in which we find ourselves when we pray, through which we find our way and steep in our faith, and grow in the practice of the presence of God.  Prayer is something we work at, continue in, live with.  Jesus has taught, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John 6:29).   It is this circle in which Jesus invites us to participate, made fully human via His life and even His death, baptizing us into the great faith about which He speaks.  Let us find our way through the pure hearts of all those who are like little children.