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

Christ cursing the fig tree.  Fresco, 14th century.  Pec Monastery, Serbia

 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 (and those who journey with them) drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then 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 are those who were trading in live animals, used in sacrifices in the temple.  The money changers are those who traded Roman coins for Jewish coins.  It was believed that Roman coins, bearing the image of Caesar, were defiling in the temple, a form of idol worship.  The cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity, my study bible says, that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  Each person, we recall, is also considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), and so this is a sign that our hearts and minds must also be cleansed of earthly matters.  Let us note that Jesus implies through the quotations (from Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11) that in the way that these things are practiced, the people are being robbed.

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.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 8:2 (Septuagint).  My study bible remarks on this contrast between the perfect praise of children, and that of adults.  The children's praise is innocent, fitting, unashamed, and from hearts of pure love.  But the adults' praise (as we remarked in yesterday's reading on the Triumphal Entry) carried earthly expectations and agendas.  When those adult expectations are left unfulfilled, it will lead them to rebel against Jesus five days later (27:20-23).

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.   My study bible tells us that the fig tree was a symbol of prosperity and peace.  It withers because it is fruitless.  The promise of its leaves denotes a rich and treasured fruit, but it is empty.  This is a prophetic act, my study bible says, directed toward Israel, and especially the religious leadership.  After three years of Christ's preaching, teaching, and healing, both the leaders and the crowds were destitute of spiritual fruit, and their response to Christ is not a desire for the spiritual life He offers, but rejection.  He curses the tree, my study bible adds, also 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."  As with so much of Matthew's Gospel, this is a kind of echo of what Christ has said elsewhere, given new emphasis and facets of meaning by its juxtaposition here (see this reading for an earlier, similar iteration).  My study bible notes that while it is not recorded that an apostle literally moved a mountain, the partristic Fathers agree that they would have had this authority if the need had arisen.  While there are stories of saints who made crevices appear in mountains, not everything that apostles accomplished was written down.  But more than the literal meaning here, this is a promise which illustrates the power of prayer and faith in all areas of life.  Again, to quote Theophan, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritually profitable things.  Let us note also the great encompassing emphasis on following the will of God in all things, which goes hand in hand with this statement.

Jesus curses the fig tree, and it withers.  Is this not strange for a modern picture of the benign Jesus who never responds, never seems to say a mean word about anybody, never rails at hypocrites (in the modern imagination, at any rate), never criticizes or goes on the offense?  Well, that picture of Jesus is not consistent with what we read in the Gospels.  Jesus has plenty of critical and prophetic words to say about all kinds of things, not least of which is the way that the leadership conducts itself and fails to care properly for those in its flock.  No, Jesus really does not say that everybody has their own truth and everything is fine -- because, in fact, lies and manipulations do damage and harm, and hypocrisy leads to harm we can't even see nor fully know.  And that is the truth that Jesus tells, represents, will die for, so that it lasts and lives in this world, and restores to those the life that lies would take away.  We begin today's reading with the cleansing of the temple, in which Jesus fully criticizes by suggesting that the one place which is supposed to be a house of prayer has been turned into a den of thieves.  This suggests avarice at work, a system in which the greatest victims are, of course, the poor -- who must no doubt pay in some sense for the work of the money changers, atop what they would pay for the sacrifice of an animal which they cannot bring with them.  This is something that rarely seems to change in our world, that it is the poor and powerless who pay the most and have the least safety net.  It really doesn't make a lot of difference, in my experience, which system or innovation we might be talking about.   When Christ's teachings give us a sense of communion, it is to be inclusive of all, to care for the "least of these" and the "littlest ones."  On top of that, His praise is for all those who are "poor in spirit."  When traditional social structures break down, of community, of family, of security and safety and protection from violence or other crime, due to whatever reason, it is the poor who pay the most as they rely the most on these safety nets.  If a type of theft creeps into our institutions, to whatever degree, it is the poor who will be the hardest hit.  Jesus ends with the withering and condemnation of the fig tree, and a promise of the power of faith -- suggesting to us at once that our choices to uphold spiritual truth really do make a difference and have consequences, both negative and positive.  It is He who is here for the littlest among us, those who must more fully rely upon God.  This applies to all those who are "poor in spirit," from every walk and class of life.  It little matters what the externals look like:  a true love of God will work to produce a dependency on faith and prayer.  Let us remember His strict commands to His own followers regarding abuses to the littlest ones, and His open criticism of the practices of the leadership, especially as we read through the confrontations and tests that are coming for Christ in Jerusalem.  Let us remember His word, His truth for us all, and seek to see through the manipulation and hypocrisy of whatever form they take on for us today, by clinging to what He offers us.