Sunday, November 15, 2015

The Fig Tree



" 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. But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." --[ Mark 13: 24-32].


Immediately after Jesus was crucified and rose again from the dead and was seated at the right hand of His Father, the disciples believed that Jesus would come again.  After all, before His death, Jesus had told His disciples, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that  where I am, you may be also." --[John 14:3].

 Early Christians wanted to know -- when would  the Second Coming occur, and how would they know it was happening?

Mark, in this Gospel, warns of the signs of the Coming, that "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky and the powers in the Heavens will be shaken."

Many have predicted the Second Coming before now, but any predictions must be as faulty as our human souls, since "neither the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father [shall know]".

But, I submit to you that we do not have to wait only for Jesus' Second Coming.  For, Jesus is all around us today, if we only care to slow down and look.

Jesus' presence is as obvious as the fig tree. We recognize that summer is coming when the "branch of the fig tree becomes tender and sprouts leaves."

I remember one Saturday, when I was about three years old, walking through my little village with my parents. They whispered, and pointed at a black man walking through town. No doubt, he was also doing his Saturday errands. But my family acted shocked and disturbed that a black man was even present in our village. I remember being anxious for that poor man. Who would want to be pointed at and made so conspicuous? I didn't know what my family's attitude was, but it was clearly not Love.

Only years later did I come to know what that harsh moment was. It was Racism.

My family used to deride the poor, saying, 'Let them help themselves.'  My family had money, we were not starving. But they saw charity as, "giving our hard-earned money away.''  They saw the poor as 'wanting only to live off others.'  But I? -- Somehow, I understood that the poor simply had fallen on hard times; and that even one dollar to them would have been a small miracle.

Blaming others for being born poor was not Love. That attitude seemed greedy and selfish. I think I was about ten at the time, when I realized this.  Plain as day, I saw that a lack of charity was not Love.

My family used to boast that we were superior, since we were educated and had professional jobs. In my teens, I began to realize that not everyone had had the same opportunities for an education. Not everyone was born as intellectual. But they still had many valuable qualities as human beings. They were worthy of Love.

I think I was about 13 when I realized that narcissism is not Love.

I can see clearly, that when we fail to recognize Love around us, we fail to recognize Jesus.

These days, we fool ourselves into thinking that defending abortion is "Pro-Choice". But abortion is not Life or Love. It is Death.

We worship celebrities, with their fabulous homes, their stables of designer clothes and flashy cars. But, idolizing people for what they own is Greed.  And Narcissism. Not Love.

Now comes ISIS, trying to convince the world that their brand of vicious persecution and violence is right with God. Is this what we have come to-- when Love is Death, and Evil is flashy and alluring?

I truly believe that we ALL recognize Love for what it is. We also know full well what Evil and Hate are. Any child of three, or ten, or 13 knows this!

The signs of Jesus in our midst are obvious for all to see --- as plain as a fig tree unfurling its tender sprouts, signaling the coming of warmth and a fruitful harvest.

 But, do we dare call out the Little Fig Tree, and name it our loud, for what it is? Do we dare to recognize and embrace Love, and Jesus?

[Related Postings: "My Little Fig Tree", March 13, 2013].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2015. All Rights Reserved.






















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