Holy Monday: Nothing but Leaves
Mark 11:12-14
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
As someone who grew up in an agricultural community where seasons dictate so much, I am particularly struck by how Jesus inspected the tree when it clearly wasn’t the season for figs. This seems unreasonable and almost unfair to the fig tree, but Jesus is teaching a principle of the Kingdom of Heaven here. He pays no mind to the time and season of the soil and approaches the fig tree to look for fruit, only to find leaves—nothing but leaves.
No matter how green and lush, leaves cannot make up for a lack of fruit. While others might have admired the leaves and found them beautiful, Jesus was not impressed; in fact, He was upset. The leaves provided appearance but lacked substance. The disciples witnessed this scene play out, the only destructive miracle Jesus performed in the gospels, and knew He was doing more than looking for a mid-day snack. He was teaching them something about their own lives.
Fig leaves are present in Scripture from the very beginning,
Genesis 3:7 At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Whether used to impress, distract, or hide, fig leaves always fall short. In her book, She Speaks Fire, Mariela Rosario invites us to examine our own iterations of the first fig leaves,
What’s even scarier and more disheartening to admit is that these twenty-first-century fig leaves are too often praised, rewarded, and coveted in our world.
We are called to bear good fruit in and out of season. There are plenty of circumstances in our lives that, to the natural naked eye, would seem unreasonable to expect any good fruit in or from. Jesus is using this leafy fig tree to reveal what He desires to see in those He loves. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control should be evident in us, siempre. The thing about fruit is that it isn’t for us. It’s for the hungry and hurting around us. It testifies to the good soil we’ve set our lives in, the true vine we’ve chosen to remain in.
In Mark 11, Jesus cursed a fig tree as He was on His way to another tree later that week. A tree where He would carry our curse and, in its place, provide a way to a full and fruitful life in and through Him. A tree that made a way for us to come and abide and bear good and much fruit through Him no matter the season.
