LEARN A LESSON FROM THE FIG TREE

LEARN A LESSON FROM THE FIG TREE

Reflections on the Gospel

November 17, 2024: A Reflection on the Gospel for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mk 13:24-32

Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Mk 13:26

“Learn a lesson…” So many of Jesus’ parables begin with these words of Jesus. Today is another example and we are asked to learn from a fig tree. “Learn a lesson from the fig tree.” In the context of today’s gospel about the final coming of the Son of Man, what can a fig tree possibly teach us?

Jesus goes on, “When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.” The fig tree can teach us about hope and God’s unending presence in the cycles that life presents. Our life, our world, our universe is cyclical. So is history. History is moving toward that last day when all things will be good.

If we see history as a story that is unfolding and moving all towards a good that is beyond all our imagining, that culminates in the final stage of history as one in which God makes all things to work together for the eternal good of all that is. The branch will become tender and sprout the leaves of the Kingdom of God, and we will know that summer, living in the eternal presence of God in his kingdom of love is near. It will happen and it will be good.

In all of this, whether it be the end times of the world or the end times of our lives, God is with us in love. We are not alone, and our lives can be lived in a larger perspective than our daily ups and downs, the crosses and pain we must pass through. They are not the end. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it entered into the human heart what things God has prepared for those who love him.

We share in the Kingdom of God now by faith, but the day is coming when we will live in the fullness of that Kingdom that goes beyond all we can hope for or imagine will be fulfilled. Every day can be a “tendering” of our branches, a sprouting of a new leaf of God’s life and love. God is near, always. And his nearness is tender compassion, strength and hope that makes all things work for the good of those who love him.

[Note: the photo above is of our crabapple tree last spring. We don’t have a fig tree.]