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Do Our Lives Bear Fruit for Jesus?

May 31, 2007

Sir 44:1, 9-13 / Mk 11:11-26

Today's Gospel presents a rare side of Jesus, a Jesus who curses a fig tree and angrily drives money changers from the temple with a whip. Sometimes it is difficult for us to imagine that Our Lord could ever be angry, since He loves so deeply. This passage reminds us of the humanity of Jesus — our God Who became man. But it also reminds us what the Lord requires of us.

The Lord desires for us to bear fruit. There are numerous instances in Scripture where the Lord commands us to produce fruit with our very lives. So what is this fruit?

It is the work of Jesus Christ in us which comes forth through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is that power that enables us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and bury the dead. It is active evidence of a life turned towards holiness filled with acts of righteousness and good works.

In today's Gospel, the tree was a means for us to look inward at our own lives. A fig tree bears leaves and fruit at the same time. Jesus' fig tree had leaves which meant that the fruit should have been there. Are we like the tree? Do we physically bear the signs of being a Christian person, yet produce no fruit? When we say we are Christians, can we show where Christ is seen in our lives?

When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He was saying something about the Christian life. When He went into the temple courts, overturned tables and drove out the profiteers, He was showing how even a place of worship can be unfruitful.

So today, let us reflect on our words, deeds, and actions. Is there fruit that comes forth from them?