The Fig Tree, Part 1

I've recently been spending a lot of time in the Gospels of the New Testament. This summer I think I am going to begin reading through the Old Testament from beginning to end (a quest I really am quite excited and scared about seeing that there are many books I've never once read...), but recently, I've just been reading about Jesus, something I've really enjoyed tremendously.

I believe God loves stories. I believe He is involved in every story, and as Madeleine L'Engle would say, calls us to be "co-creators" with Him in story. The thing is, however, that there are so many stories I just don't understand, and this lack of understanding leads to questions, and it seems these questions only lead to more questions and less answers. In fact, those things I thought I had answers to it turns out are foiled by new questions. Somehow, this doesn't really surprise me too much, but it is a little frustrating at times. I love the fact that God is greater than what my little human mind can wrap around (God is God after all), but this little human mind still struggles to understand and finds this rather impossible. So you see the dilemna and I assume many of you know it just as well as I do. Grace. Faith. Love. Trinity. Incarnation. Redemption. I know I will never fully understand and grasp these things (oh yes, what a journey this is), but that doesn't mean my mind and soul still won't try.

So since God is a God of story, the Bible is really one great story, with many smaller stories adding to the whole. But today I want to focus on one story, the story involving the fig tree in Mark 11 and Matthew 21. At first glance, this is what I took from the story: Jesus sees a fig tree, Jesus wants figs, it is not the season for figs hence there are none on the tree, Jesus gets angry and makes the tree wither, never to produce figs again. It's probably best to actually read the Biblical accounts yourself.

I asked Joy about the fig tree story a few weeks ago and then just a few days later I was in Borders and picked up Bertrand Russell's "Why I Am Not a Christian." Interesting stuff. He brings this story up as a reason that Jesus was not only not God incarnate, but not even the high moral teacher others ascribe him to be. I'll admit that I also found this story somewhat perplexing and odd. Initially, I thought it rather odd that Jesus would 1) expect fruit from a tree out of season, and 2) curse a tree because it didn't have fruit even though it wasn't the season for it. I don't remember ever hearing any sermon on this passage or topic, but apparently many and many people have wondered about this story found twice in the Gospels. I thought it amazingly interesting that just a few days after thinking about this story and talking it over with Joy, Madeleine L'Engle said something about it in her book "And It was Good." (Coincidence that it just keeps coming up...?)

(For the note, while doing some online research, I discovered that Madeleine has written a more complete interpretation on this fig tree story in her book, "Penguins and Golden Calves: Icons and Idols" and have already ordered it used from Amazon for just $1.05! What a deal! Plus she discusses how icons can turn into idols, something I had many great discussions about at Ashland last fall. Oh Mad. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship. I'm sure Neville in L.A. and Bonnie in Australia are both quite happy about this recent development.)

So I had some thoughts going on about this fig tree business and was going to bring them up here. Some scholars say the story shows Jesus' humanity (he was hungry) and some say there is an allegorical or symbolic meaning (predicting the destruction of Jerusalem). Fair enough, but my initial response would say that Jesus was quite a marvelous story-teller, as seen in his many parables. This isn't a parable...this is a real fig tree, a fig tree created by God, the same God who knows when even a single sparrow falls.

I decided I just wanted to explore some other views. So I did a little Google action. I found that this really is a widely discussed passage. I found a few messages to read through that look interesting as well as an article on an atheistic web-site that says, "If the fig tree story is to be taken as read, the main character in the story, Jesus, is just plain stupid." Quite a statement. One I don't agree with, but it does make me wonder what exactly is going on in this story. So I think I'm going to do some reading. Borrow some commentaries from my dad, read some more L'Engle and Russell, as well as read and reread the actual Biblical account. So, my initial intent thwarted, I don't think this is all going to fit into one blog entry after all, and thaso I have titled this "The Fig Tree, Part 1." I'm not sure what will follow, but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.