From: Mark 11:11:26

The Messiah Enters Jerusalem (Continuation)

[11] And He (Jesus) entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple; and when He
had looked around at everything, as it was already late, He went out to Bethany
with the Twelve.

The Barren Fig Tree. The Expulsion of the Money-Changers

[12] On the following day, when they came from Bethany, He was hungry. [13]
And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He could find any-
thing on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the
season for figs. [14] And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”
And His disciples heard it.

[15] And they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive
out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and He overturned the
tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons; [16] and
He would not allow any one to carry anything through the temple. [17] And He
taught, and said to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of
prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” [18] And the
chief priests and the scribes heard it and sought a way to destroy Him; for they
feared Him, because all the multitude was astonished at His teaching. [19] And
when evening came they went out of the city.

[20] As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its
roots. [21] And Peter remembered and said to Him, “Master, look! The fig tree
which You cursed has withered.” [22] And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in
God. [23] Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and
cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says
will come to pass, it will be done for him. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you
ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will. [25] And whenever you
stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father
also who is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

12. Jesus’ hunger is another sign of His being truly human. When we contem-
plate Jesus we should feel Him very close to us; He is true God and true man.
His experience of hunger shows that He understands us perfectly: He has shared
our needs and limitations. “How generous our Lord is in humbling Himself and ful-
ly accepting His human condition! He does not use His divine power to escape
from difficulties or effort. Let’s pray that He will teach us to be tough, to love work,
to appreciate the human and divine nobility of savoring the consequences of self-
giving” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 161).

13-14. Jesus, of course, knew that it was not the right time for figs; therefore, He
was not looking for figs to eat. His action must have a deeper meaning. The Fat-
hers of the Church, whose interpretation St. Bede reflects in his commentary on
this passage, tells us that the miracle has an allegorical purpose: Jesus had
come among His own people, the Jews, hungry to find fruit of holiness and good
works, but all He found were external practices—leaves without fruit. Similarly,
when He enters the temple, He upbraids those present for turning the temple of
God, which is a house of prayer (prayer is the fruit of piety), into a place of com-
merce (mere leaves). “So you”, St. Bede concludes, “if you do not want to be
condemned by Christ, should guard against being a barren tree, by offering to
Jesus, who made Himself poor, the fruit of piety which He expects of you” (”In
Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”).

God wants both fruit and foliage; when, because the right intention is missing,
there are only leaves, only appearances, we must suspect that there is nothing
but purely human action, with no supernatural depth—behavior which results from
ambition, pride and a desire to attract attention.

“We have to work a lot on this earth and we must do our work well, since it is
our daily task that we have to sanctify. But let us never forget to do everything for
God’s sake. If were to do it ourselves, out of pride, we could produce nothing but
leaves, and no matter how luxuriant they were, neither God nor our fellow man
would find any good in them” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 202).

15-18. Our Lord does not abide lack of faith or piety in things to do with the wor-
ship of God. If He acts so vigorously to defend the temple of the Old Law, it indi-
cates how we should truly conduct ourselves in the Christian temple, where He
is really and truly present in the Blessed Eucharist. “Piety has its own good
manners. Learn them. It’s a shame to see those ‘pious’ people who don’t know
how to attend Mass — even though they go daily — nor how to bless themselves
(they throw their hands about in the weirdest fashion), nor how to bend the knee
before the Tabernacle (their ridiculous genuflections seem a mockery), nor how
to bow their heads reverently before a picture of our Lady” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way”, 541). Cf. note on Matthew 21:12-13.

20-25. Jesus speaks to us here about the power of prayer. For prayer to be effec-
tive, absolute faith and trust are required: “A keen and living faith. Like Peter’s.
When you have it — our Lord has said so — you will move mountains, the human-
ly insuperable obstacles that rise up against your apostolic undertakings” (St. J.
Escriva, “The Way”, 489).

For prayer to be effective, we also need to love our neighbor, forgiving him every-
thing: if we do, then God our Father will also forgive us. Since we are all sinners
we need to admit the fact before God and ask His pardon (cf. Luke 18:9-14).

When Christ taught us to pray He required that we have these predispositions (cf.
Matthew 6:12; also Matthew 5:23 and notes on same). Here is how Theophylact
(”Ennaratio in Evangelium Marci, in loc.”) puts it: “When you pray, if you have any-
thing against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father who is in Heaven may for-
give you [...]. He who believes with great affection raises his whole heart to God
and, in David’s words, opens his soul to God. If he expands his heart before God
in this way, he becomes one with Him, and his burning heart is surer of obtaining
what he desires.”

Even when he is in the state of sin, man should seek God out in prayer; Jesus
places no limitations at all: “Whatever you ask...” Therefore, our personal unwor-
thiness should not be an excuse for not praying confidently to God. Nor should
the fact that God already knows our needs be an excuse for not turning to Him.
St. Teresa explains this when she prays: “O my God, can it be better to keep
silent about my necessities, hoping that Thou wilt relieve them? No, indeed, for
Thou, my Lord and my Joy, knowing how many they must be and how it will al-
leviate them if we speak to Thee of them, dost bid us pray to Thee and say that
Thou will not fail to give” (St. Teresa, “Exclamations”, 5). Cf. notes on Matthew
6:5-6 and Matthew 7:7-11.

26. As the RSV note points out, many ancient manuscripts add a v. 26: but it is
clearly an addition, taken straight from Matthew 6:15. This addition was included
by the editors of the Old Vulgate.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	1 Peter 4:7-13 ©

Everything will soon come to an end, so, to pray better, keep a calm and sober mind. Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since love covers over many a sin. Welcome each other into your houses without grumbling. Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourselves at the service of others. If you are a speaker, speak in words which seem to come from God; if you are a helper, help as though every action was done at God’s orders; so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus Christ, since to him alone belong all glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

My dear people, you must not think it unaccountable that you should be tested by fire. There is nothing extraordinary in what has happened to you. If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed.

Psalm	Psalm 95:10-13 ©

The Lord comes to rule the earth.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’

The world he made firm in its place;

he will judge the peoples in fairness.

The Lord comes to rule the earth.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,

let the sea and all within it thunder praise,

let the land and all it bears rejoice,

all the trees of the wood shout for joy

at the presence of the Lord for he comes,

he comes to rule the earth.

The Lord comes to rule the earth.

With justice he will rule the world,

he will judge the peoples with his truth.

The Lord comes to rule the earth.

Gospel Acclamation	Ps118:36,29

Alleluia, alleluia!

Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,

and teach me your law.

Alleluia!

Or	cf.Jn15:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

I chose you from the world

to go out and bear fruit,

fruit that will last,

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Mark 11:11-26 ©

After he had been acclaimed by the crowds, Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked all round him, but as it was now late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Next day as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry. Seeing a fig tree in leaf some distance away, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. And he addressed the fig tree. ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ he said. And his disciples heard him say this.

So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples? But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’ This came to the ears of the chief priests and the scribes, and they tried to find some way of doing away with him; they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by his teaching. And when evening came he went out of the city.

Next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered to the roots. Peter remembered. ‘Look, Rabbi,’ he said to Jesus, ‘the fig tree you cursed has withered away.’ Jesus answered, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you solemnly, if anyone says to this mountain, “Get up and throw yourself into the sea,” with no hesitation in his heart but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours. And when you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anybody, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your failings too.’ But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your failings either.’