Let no one eat fruit from you ever again

 

 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 the 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 11:12-25

On Saturday, we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho (as they traveled on the road to Jerusalem).  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

 

 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.   Between Saturday's reading (see above) and today, is Mark 11:1-11, the passage which describes the events of Palm Sunday, or Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  Presumably, it's not included as today's reading because Palm Sunday was celebrated in most Churches yesterday.  The exception is the Eastern Orthodox, for whom Easter comes in May this year, as in Eastern Orthodox tradition Easter is calculated to fall after Passover.  (Passover this year takes place April 22 - 30, 2024).  So this "next day" described in today's reading is Monday of Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life, and corresponds to today in most church calendars.  My study Bible comments that it was not the season for figs means that this fig tree had sprouted an early full foliage, seeming to indicate a first crop -- but it had not borne any fruit.  So, Jesus, finding not a single fig, condemns it.  In Scripture, my study Bible says, a fig tree is frequently a symbol of Israel (Hosea 9:10).  So, in this case, it is a sign of the lack of fruitfulness, even after the fullness of Christ's earthly ministry.  The Kingdom will be taken from her and given to another people, called to bear spiritual fruit (see Matthew 21:43; Galatians 5:22-23).  In the poetry of the ancient world, and even of Scripture (Song of Solomon 2:13) figs are the sweetest and richest of fruit, and so symbolizing spiritual treasure.  Here, the lack of figs shows spiritual barrenness.

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 the 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 in the temple were trading in life animals which were used for sacrifices.  The job of the money changers was to trade Roman coins for Jewish ones, as Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (worshiped as a god) and so were considered to be defiling in the temple.  Here Jesus -- clearly upset at the trade which seems geared to make profits at the expense of the pilgrims who come to worship at Passover -- quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:1 in order to make an explicit statement about the practices of the religious leadership.  My study Bible says that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), it notes, this is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  

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."  My study Bible comments that the cursing and withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act signifying the judgment of Israel.  It notes that the disciples need to learn that the old covenant with Israel is becoming "obsolete" and will "vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).  They will establish His Church, filled ultimately with both Gentiles and Jews, and they need assurance that they are following His will.  Thus, my study Bible asserts, this fig tree will be an indelible image 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."  My study Bible comments that, while it is not recorded that an apostle literally moved a mountain, the patristic literature is clear that they had this authority if the need had arisen (there are legends of certain saints making crevices appear in mountains).  Moreover, my study Bible adds, not everything the apostles accomplished was written down.  Beyond the literal meaning, this is a promise which illustrates the power of faith and prayer in all areas of life.  My study Bible quotes Theophylact as saying, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritually profitable things.  

 

"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."  This is a very essential addition to Christ's teaching regarding the power of faith.  Forgiveness is inescapable as a component of the effectiveness of faith, and a part of faith.  In forgiveness, one does not necessarily invite close relations with people who will abuse or hurt, but it is similar to confession.  Forgiveness, in the Gospels, is a word that means to "let go."  Essentially, we "let go" of hurts, debts, trespasses (in the language of the Lord's Prayer) and give them to God, to guide us through the proper response and to heal us.  In this way, they do not stand as obstacles to our relationship to God.  This mutual forgiveness assures us of our own forgiveness from God.  In this way, we also affirm for ourselves that judgment -- for all, including ourselves -- is ultimately in the hands of God.

 

In today's passage, we're given rather vivid images of Christ acting decisively, even somewhat violently, with coercive action designed to make an indelible impression (in the words of my study Bible).  The first such action is perhaps His curse upon the fig tree, overheard by the disciples, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  The way the passage is written seems designed to let us know that this act by Christ was not necessarily one intended with calm foresight as a demonstration or teaching action, but rather one made out of the depths of Christ's reactions to the things He finds in Jerusalem, and even what He knows is going to come.  Perhaps it is only He who knows that this is the final week of His earthly life, and what is to come in a few days.  But this decisive action on His part has clearly the significance of a judgment coming from Christ.  Then He moves on to the temple and again, the vehemence of what is in His understanding about the corruption in the temple and the practices of the religious leadership results in the strongest and perhaps most violent action undertaken by Christ as He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  If we want to understand the indignation expressed here, we have only to look at Matthew 23, the fullness of His scathing indictment of the scribes and Pharisees and their corruption and hypocrisy.  These incidents come at this stage because it is the closing week of Christ's earthly life, so if we wish to extrapolate, we could say that the time has come because His "time" (or His "hour") draws near, and after that He will not be in the world any longer, and so circumstances for these institutions and these men whom He addresses will change.  John's Gospel focuses a lot of attention on Christ's "hour" (the time of glorification, of the Cross, His Passion), and so repeats several warnings by Jesus saying that it is only "a little while longer" that He would be with them (John 7:33; 12:35; 13:33).  In Luke's Gospel, Jesus says flatly, "For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.'  For the things concerning Me have an end" (Luke 22:37).  Therefore, the things that appear surprisingly violent in some sense to us in today's reading come as Jesus knows the time is very near that His "end" is at hand, and the spiritual fruits that could be hoped for from the religious leadership are not forthcoming.  In this sense, we do well to consider that Christ's ministry is decided not by Himself alone, but by the Father, for it is the Father who determines the times of things (Mark 13:32), and so if no fruits have been produced by now, these leaders who now seek to put Him to death are far from likely to produce any fruits of repentance at all.  Let us remember that we are now in Holy Week, and walk with Christ knowing what is to come.  For the message here to us is clear, that things do eventually have an end, even our very lives in this world.  "Ever again" is long time.  Therefore, today's events indicate to us that our time in life is precious, and every moment is one in which we may meet Christ and find where He calls us, what fruits He desires from us.  What do you need to change?  Today's reading ends with a note endorsing and emphasizing faith.  Let us remember where to turn when we feel stuck, or when we need a new start.

Let no one eat fruit from you ever again

 

 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

 

On Saturday we read that, as Jesus and the disciples are on the road toward Jerusalem, they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  

 

For the churches of the West (and the Orthodox Armenian Apostolic Church), yesterday was Palm Sunday.  For most Orthodox Churches, Palm Sunday is this coming Sunday.  These events are covered in an intervening reading between Saturday's reading, above, and today's.  Please see Matthew 11:1-11, the story of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

 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.   My study Bible explains that it was not the season for figs means that this fig tree had sprouted an early an early fall foliage, indicating a first crop, but without bearing any fruit.  Jesus, finding not even one fig, condemns it.  This is a symbolic gesture; in Scripture a fig tree is often a symbol of Israel (Hosea 9:10).  My study Bible says that her spiritual fruitfulness has ceased, so the Kingdom will be taken from her and given to another people, who are 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.   This act by Jesus is called the cleansing of the temple.  Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers would trade Roman coins for Jewish coins, as Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (worshiped as a god) and were considered defiling in the temple.  The text also mentions those who sold doves:  these were the smallest and most inexpensive sacrifice, the one made by the poor.  It is likely that those who sold doves are mentioned specified as prices were inflated for pilgrims coming for the Passover feast, thereby this sacrifice of the poor would become a way to profit from those who had very little to begin with.  My study Bible comments that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.

 

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."   My study Bible comments here that the cursing and withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act on the part of Christ.  It signifies the judgment of Israel.  The disciples need to learn, it says, that the old covenant with Israel is becoming "obsolete" and will "vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).  They will establish His Church, ultimately to be filled with Gentiles and Jews, and they need assurance that they are following Christ's will.  This fig tree will be an indelible image 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."  Clearly, Jesus is addressing what must be their astonished reaction to the withered fig tree.  My study Bible says that while it is not recorded that an apostle literally moved a mountain, the patristic consensus is that they had this authority if the need had arisen (there are stories of certain saints who made crevices appear in mountains).  Moreover, not everything the apostles accomplished was written down.  Beyond the literal meaning of these statements, Christ's promise is additionally 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. 

"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."  This statement really should be coupled with the one above it, as it is given here as a necessary component of prayer.  While we may call upon God's power to help us in all times, we should also understand that it is part and parcel of that same understanding of faith that we give up to God our own concerns and "debts" we feel have been incurred by others.  In this way, all things are truly in the hands -- and the power -- of God, and our prayers are no doubt more effective for being more in alignment with God's will and God's truth for us.  My study Bible notes that this teaching is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35), which concludes with the same teaching.  To be unwilling to forgive (literally meaning to "let go" in Greek) is to flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.  Let us note that we "let go" to God (as in "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors," Matthew 6:12), so that we are able to walk in response in this world the way that God directs us to do.

This vivid, unforgettable image of the withered fig tree has to be something which had a distinctive effect upon the disciples.  We have to note that it is Peter, who, as they pass by, remarks, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."   Effectively, Jesus did not simply wither the tree with a wave of His hand in front of them.  It was a spoken command that had this effect, whether or not the effect was immediately noticeable:  "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  This is not just any command from Christ.  It is, rather, a curse.  Let us think back to the whole of the Gospels, and ask ourselves if we can recall another time when Christ used His power to curse anything or anyone.  But this withered fig tree, however, remains a testimony to all of us about ourselves and our fellow human beings.   It is a symbol of what is spiritually unfruitful, of lives lived by choice to care nothing for the things of God, the things of beauty, truth, goodness -- a life lived in willing sacrifice of spiritually good things in exchange purely for what we can gain through selfishness and a focus on the material.  This is because the story of this fig tree is so clearly juxtaposed around the cleansing of the temple, Christ's visible expression of condemnation of the practices He calls out in this one act which involves physical force that we can think of by Christ.  In so doing, Jesus teaches, "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.'"  He puts together two verses from different prophecies for this statement:  Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  So in the act of cleansing the temple, and in Jesus' words -- which, lest we forget, are the Lord's words as given to the prophets -- Jesus gives us the "text" for the image of the withering of the fig tree.  This is a failure of the spiritual leaders to guide the people to what is spiritually fruitful.  It is a collapse, into a nutshell, of the failure to find faith in Christ's mission through the Incarnation.  Similarly, when Jesus chastises the cities to which His ministry has gone:  "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes" (Matthew 11:21).   When He mentions those mighty works done in those cities, we are also to keep in mind the "mighty works" He could not do, such as in His hometown of Nazareth, because of the lack of faith He found there (see Mark 6:4-6).  Such works are also spiritual fruit in that sense in which they also depend upon the faith of the people.  We're given the sense, through these images and acts in the Gospels, that God's power is always at work, always on offer, as is God's love, but spiritual fruit also depends upon faith, and in this sense, the works of human beings matter too.  It's a sense in which humankind is really the ground of God's work; there is a way in which our free will, as given by God, becomes a sort of gate-keeper to God's work in the world.  It can work through us with our "yes" -- or our lack of faith can become a stumbling block, a closed gate, because even Christ could perform no mighty work without the presence of faith.  When Jesus speaks about prayer in today's reading, and its connection with God's power working through faithful human beings, such as the apostles, He makes clear the role of faith in the work of God's power in the world.  Moreover, and so importantly, He adds the words about forgiveness as an essential part of our prayer.  Without the willingness to "give up" the things in life that challenge us, the injustices and hurts, the things that cause us to believe others owe us something for what has been taken away from us, the trespasses and bad acts done against us, we are not putting all of our lives in the hands of God and allowing God to work God's grace fully in our lives.  As Christ would go to the Cross, so we are to take up our crosses -- which means that our suffering, as well as our joys, is in the hands of God, and that we turn to God to find the ways God wishes for us to walk through an imperfect and unjust world in which evil still plays an active part.  And this is where we are until the Judgment, until we await Christ's final return and the full life of Resurrection promised through the events we celebrate as Easter or Pascha.  In the Church, as faithful in the world, we give everything into the hands of God, so that God's grace may work through us to produce the spiritual fruit Christ is looking for.  For this is who we are as His followers, and His commands that He has given us.  In that sense, the withered fig tree stands as a warning to all of us, for what happens when the love of God is supplanted by the love of something else.

 

 

 

But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another; because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

- Luke 19:41-48

Yesterday we read that, after giving to His followers the parable of the Minas, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  Bu He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." 

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another; because you did not know the time of your visitation."  My study bible points out to us that Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  It notes that only faith in Christ brings true peace.  In Him are all things reconciled at all depths.  This truth, however, is hidden from a city that will soon reject this Savior.  The destruction of Jerusalem prophesied by Jesus took place in AD 70.   But Christ's description can also be a spiritual one, describing the fate of the soul which suffers from a lack of faith, and rejection of spiritual truth.

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  Luke does not dwell much on the cleansing of the temple.  Those who bought and sold in it are the ones who trade in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  Once again, there is a spiritual parallel to the individual soul and what it cherishes in its aims and goals and loves.  As Jesus made clear elsewhere, we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24)  We must choose what we put first, what we worship -- and the alternatives here image the soul that is either a house of prayer or a den of thieves.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.

The last lines of today's reading tell us that Jesus was teaching daily in the temple, that the religious leaders want to destroy Him, but cannot -- for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  This phrase, very attentive, is a rather mild translation into modern English.  The words in Greek indicate more that they were hanging onto Christ's every word, captivated, spellbound, suspended in rapt attention.  This is a picture of a people who usually can't get what He's offering, a people who hunger and thirst for every single word.  It reminds us of Jesus' words to the people on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, as reported by John: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37).  These words are possibly inspired by the promise of Isaiah, "Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters" (Isaiah 55:1), but they are a clear invitation, in Christ's words, to the feast of the Holy Spirit which He will give (see John 7:37-39).  Those who are in the temple for the Passover Feast, Jews from everywhere in Israel and those from throughout the Diaspora, including proselytes from other nations, hunger and thirst for Christ's words.  His words are the living words of spirit (John 6:63), and they are the words of eternal life (John  6:68).   His are the liberating words of salvation, and as the people sense in their deep passion to hear Him, they are words for each human being, for everyone, to which all are invited.  The words of Christ are not to be shut up and put away, couched only behind a curtain for the privileged few.  They are meant for each one of us, and the Gospel teaches us that the people all respond in their eagerness to hear -- for each one is a creature of God, and thereby the God-man has come into the world for each of us, all of us, for the life of the world (John 6:51).  This is the liberating, freeing truth of the God who loves us so much that He came into this world and will die on the Cross for us.  He will go even into hell for His word to reach us before His Ascension.  This is the power of His word:  it is not a commodity to be stored up and hidden away, to be kept as a treasure locked up somewhere without its light shining for us.  The early fourth century Fathers of the Church were among the most gifted and brilliant scholars the world has known, but their understanding of His word is for all of us, for each of us -- and here in Luke's Gospel, Christ Himself rejoiced that things that were hidden from the wise and prudent were revealed to babes (10:21).  Turning to His disciples on that occasion, He told them, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it" (see 10:21-24).  This is the liberating reality of the words of salvation.  His house is not a den of thieves, who store away and steal treasure in the sense of purely material good without the benefit of spirit, but it is a house of prayer -- a treasure that reaches to all and is for all, that has no limits in its applications and its capacity to be shared and expanded, and to go anywhere and everywhere.  What He offers can heal the hurts of the past and set us on a course for the future; it simply has no barriers to it because He made sure there are no barriers to where His salvation would go.  Even death cannot form a boundary on these potentials -- as even His death on the Cross will not stop His word but merely serve to expand it and to break down the barrier of death for everyone.  This is the impulse we see in the people who hunger and thirst for and hang onto each of His words.  Don't let the power and message of the Gospel be taken away from you, for He is here for you, He suffered and died for you and for each one of us.  Peace is in our grasp if we but seize and use it and find it for ourselves, for it is in Him.   But can we follow Him where He will lead us?  We are reminded again that His word is for deliverance, salvation, true freedom; He does not compel us as slaves but calls us as friend.  Don't let anything or anyone keep you from this beautiful gift He offers.