As they left Bethany the next day, he was hungry. Off in the distance he saw a fig tree in full leaf. He came up to it expecting to find something for breakfast, but found nothing but fig leaves. (It wasn’t yet the season for figs.) He addressed the tree: “No one is going to eat fruit from you again-ever!” And his disciples overheard him. In the morning, walking along the road, they saw the fig tree, shriveled to a dry stick. Peter, remembering what had happened the previous day, said to him, “Rabbi, look-the fig tree you cursed is shriveled up!” Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’-no shuffling or shilly-shallying-and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. (Mark 11:12-14, 20-24 MSG)
I know what it’s like to be hungry and expecting a certain food only to find its no longer there. After all, I am the father of five boys. Most recently I had made a fresh batch of Ahi Poke. The only other one in the house that likes this raw fish dish is my son Elijah. I told him he could have some while I’m at work. The operative word being “some”. Well, his 10 year old boy ears translated “some” to mean “all” and even though I had been looking forward to eating that when I got home there was nothing to eat when I finally arrived. Needless to say, I was rather perturbed. I had made that to share, yes, but also to consume. Jesus has a similar encounter with a fig tree just before walking into the Temple and turning it on its head declaring: “My house was designated a house of prayer for the nations; You’ve turned it into a hangout for thieves”. (Mark 11:17 MSG). Now was this simply the case of a grumpy Jesus who needed some Figgy pudding or was he frustrated with the spiritual state of the people of God for the same reason that He was frustrated with the fig tree? Jesus, God the Creator in human flesh, made everything with purpose and neither the fig tree nor the Temple were fulfilling this purpose. Isn’t is interesting that the narrative of Mark points out the obvious, albeit in parenthesis, that figs were out of season for this time of year. Was Jesus being a Diva? Did He want his sparkling water with a dash of lemon and one red straw brought to His celebrity trailer and heads were going to roll if someone got that wrong? No, Jesus was declaring a spiritual truth that I rarely live by. There is no “in-season or out-of-season” when it comes to prayer. Prayer changes all of that. Payer doesn’t follow those natural rules for it is supernatural by nature. Here was a natural tree doing what it does in this season… Nothing. Here was a spiritual people in a season of “Hosannas” and in a house of prayer doing… Nothing supernatural. Everything going on in the temple was the money making schemes of natural man. Jesus came hungry to see His people in conversation with His Father, removing mountains in the spirit for young and old, rich and poor and yet all he found was a barren, fruitless fig tree. This is why Jesus is so quick to connect the two instances the next day with the disciples. Jesus will never be disappointed when he walks up to a life given to prayer. Not just prayer on Sundays (in season), but prayer about everything big, little and all between, in every waking moment, when you don’t feel like praying at all (out of season).
Forgive me Lord for living a natural life instead of a supernatural one. Let me not let my faith be shoved into a box. Let me not buy into the lies: “This person is too sick, it’s not the season for healing”. “Finances are too tight, it’s not the season for giving”. “The economy is down, it’s not the season for being debt free or financially secure”. “My kids are just going through a rebellious streak, it’s not the season for discipline”. “That person has no idea how they hurt me, it’s not the season for reconciliation.”. Jesus wants to walk up to each of these situations and find the fruit of a praying person calling those things that aren’t as though they were! Let that be me Lord, ready in season and out of season with the Figgy pudding of prayer!
By the way, I have often wondered what Figgy Pudding is while singing that Christmas Carol that made it famous: “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”. This really has nothing to do with what I was just journaling on, but I thought it might be of interest to some so here is link to the all-knowing wikipdedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figgy_pudding
Traveling even further off point I wanted to share the muppet version of this song with you in anticipation of the return of the Muppets to the silver screen later this month. I realize that this may have lost me credibility with many of you, but I am nothing if I’m not transparent and I have always been a big Muppet fan! So, here it is in all it’s fuzzy glory:
Can you tell I’m excited about Christmas?
