Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard it.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, February 28, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Even Jesus got hangry. I mean, how else can you explain him cursing a tree for not bearing fruit out of season just because he was hungry? The next day, the fig tree was withered and dead. What are we to take away from this? Especially when Jesus uses it as proof that whatever you pray for will be given to you, and then immediately follows on by saying that if you stand praying, you should pray to forgive others. But what about the fig tree???
I don’t know. Maybe this is just one of those stories we need to kind of shake our head over and shrug. Maybe it’s an allegory for the people not bearing fruit and therefore being cursed to die, although that seems out of whack with Jesus on his good days. Or maybe we can stretch it and propose that Jesus tried to make up for his tantrum by using it as a teaching moment about faith.
I guess what I propose for today is that we look at this as a reminder to not let ourselves become spiritually undernourished, so that we don’t expect the impossible from people or circumstances (like figs from a tree when it’s not fig season). If we stop to spend time with God and “fill our wells”, we are much less likely to demand that others do it for us, especially if they can’t.
When have I let my stresses and troubles cause me to lash out at another person?
