Shock Effect
If you truly believe, what can you not do?
In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." - Matthew 21:18-22
My parents taught me to believe in myself, for in believing, I can achieve my goals.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus takes this to an extreme, using his power to curse a fig tree and make it die. As an example of having faith, it doesn't really present itself as the right message, does it?
Should we be motivated to have faith so we can cause something to die?
I don't believe that is the intent here at all. Matthew presents the story as an example of the power of faith, but I am sure it is memorable because it is so radically different from what we would expect from Jesus.
We have seen Jesus cure the sick and raise the dead, so we have had examples of the power of faith, yet the cursing of the tree makes us stop and take notice in a different way.
It is the shock effect at work.
The idea that one's faith could bring harm as well as good shakes the very soul, making us stop and think about what we want to happen in the world.
How easy it is to lose my temper. I had better be careful what I say and do.
The message I get from today's Gospel is one of responsibility. I can do all things in my faith, so I had better choose wisely what I ask it to do, or else I will cause harm.
The shock of seeing the fig tree wither would have been a defining moment in the spiritual development of the disciples. They could see first hand that the power of their faith was huge.
So, the question for us is this. Are we mature enough to have such faith?
Perhaps we would rather hold off, doubting our ability to be faithful stewards of such power.
More to come...