And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses

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 the, "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 Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "God 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 is an example, or illustration, or Christ in His role as Judge.   That it was not the season for figs means that this fig tree had sprouted an unseasonably early full foliage, which would indicate a first crop.  But it didn't bear any fruit.  Jesus, finding that there isn't even one fig, condemns it.  In Scripture, my study bible says, a fig tree is often a symbol of Israel (Hosea 9:10).  This fig tree is like the people who reject His ministry or perhaps particularly the religious leadership who plot against Him rather than recognize Him; their fruitfulness has ceased, and so the Kingdom will be taken away and given to another people, called to bear spiritual fruit (see Matthew 21:43, Galatians 5:22-23).

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 traded in live animals which would be used for sacrifices.  At Passover (which season this is now at this point in the Gospel), pilgrims would come to purchase animals so they could make the proper sacrifices for themselves and their families.  The money changers traded Roman coins for Jewish coins.  Roman coins bore the image of Caesar, in whose name the coins were minted, and therefore were considered to be defiling in the temple.  My study bible comments that the cleansing of the temple points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  It notes that as each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), it is also as sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  Jesus quotes from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, who repeatedly called the people back to God in preparation for Christ's Incarnation (Isaiah 56:7, 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."  So Jesus answered and said to the, "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."  My study bible explains that the cursing and withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act, which signifies the judgment of Israel.  It adds that the disciples need to learn that the old covenant with Israel is becoming "obsolete" and will "vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).  They will go on to establish His Church, which will ultimately be filled with both Gentiles and Jews, and they need assurance that they will be following His will.  The fig tree will remain indelibly as an image in their minds.  Jesus relates the withering of the fig tree to the power of prayer and the authority of God which is linked to individuals through the communion of faith.  This is not a magical practice and not about the power of positive thinking or affirmations!  This is a call to the depth of faith, and the deep desire and willingness in us to follow God's will.  It is also an exposition on spiritual fruitfulness, and a prayerfully lived life, even in the midst of seeming loss and rejection, which these men will also suffer through persecution.

"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."  Let us note that as Jesus is talking about the power of prayer, this admonition is added in.  It goes back to relatedness, and in particular the communion we have in faith with God and through extension to others.  My study bible comments that Jesus insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  It says that those who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period (see also Matthew 6:14-15, and also the parable of the unforgiving servant at Matthew 18:21-35).   It adds that to not forgive others is to willfully flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.

Since Jesus ends today's reading with a teaching on forgiveness, it is very important to understand exactly what forgiveness is.  Forgiveness is not making everything better nor necessary "fixing" broken relationships in the sense that a relationship reverts to an earlier stage.  If necessary, one must remain apart from those who will continually seek to harm us, or in cases where trust remains a difficult issue.  Forgiveness is really, like everything else, first and foremost, about our relationship with God.  It is a way in which we choose to exercise and practice fully our faith by surrendering all things -- including justice -- to the sovereignty of God.  The Lord's Prayer uses the language of debts (Matthew 6:12), and in teaching that prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus added the statement noted above using the concept of trespass (Matthew 6:14-15).  Both of these are legal concepts, and the language reflects the regulation in the Law and therefore the system of justice.  Forgiveness is the act of surrendering our debts and also the times others have trespassed (literally violated our appropriate boundaries) to God.  It puts justice in the hands of God, and takes it out of our hands.  We surrender a claim to personal vengeance in response, and instead we put it in God's hands and ask for guidance for how to handle it God's way.  Through forgiveness, we recall what we read in Scripture.  St. Paul writes (in Romans 12:19), "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord."  He is quoting from Deuteronomy 32:35.   Forgiveness, in this understanding, is a choice that is always possible.  Reconciliation -- that is, a return to full relationship with someone -- is another matter altogether.  This confusion frequently leads to a fear of forgiveness, and that is an error.  Jesus repeatedly prohibits the practice of vengeance, and this is important in the context of justice systems of the time; frequently, in the ancient world, justice was only possible for those who could rely on extended clan and kinships to help settle a matter.  Christ's teachings on justice and judgment, illustrated in the image of the withered fig tree, and linked by Christ to the power of prayer, cement this need in us to forgive.  We can always pray for others, we can always tell God that we give up a situation, a hurt, a terrible wrong, to God -- and ask God to help us with it, God's way.  We hand it over to God in prayer so that we will be shown the best way to handle a bad situation.  The world of popular psychology is filled with advice and teaching regarding the effective and necessary power of the practice of forgiveness for our psychological and spiritual health.  What remains within us colors who we are; giving all things up to God cleans our own internal slate for a better outlook and our time and energy better spent, our capacity to love the ones with whom we do have contact, communion, and relationship more full as a result.  Everything that we read in today's reading is linked, because forgiveness teaches us that we are capable of practicing compassion and not merely responding to a perceived loss.  God and our relationship with God makes us much bigger than that.  Greed and selfishness, the idea that what we are is simply the product of all that we can grab in life, or get back from what we lost as if everything is merely quantity added or subtracted, is what goes into making the temple a "den of thieves."  If we simply look at our lives as merely steps to gain or loss, then we fail to understand quality, true treasure, that which makes our lives truly good and better.  Predators think in terms of adding and subtracting, what we gain or what we lose.  But Christ calls us to compassion, to a better, sounder, deeper way of life; we are meant to be His sheep.  And He is, ultimately, the only Judge.  Let us keep in mind that these teachings come in the midst of rejection; the religious leaders will have Him going to His Crucifixion before the week is over, and let that fact sink into us to render these teachings all the more important in light of it.  If it was what was crucial to Christ, then let it be that crucial to us as well for our own lives.