Patrick Comerford
We are in the Kingdom Season, the time between All Saints’ Day and Advent, and this week began with the Sunday next before Advent and the Feast of Christ the King (24 November 2024).
In the Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship, and in many parts of the Anglican Communion, today is a Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving for the Missionary Work of the Church. Before the day begins, I am taking some quiet time early this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 21: 29-33 (NRSVA):
29 Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.’
Today’s reflection:
The scene for the Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Luke 21: 29-33) has been set in the verses that immediately precede this reading. Christ is sitting in the Temple precincts, where he speaks about the Temple, the Nation, and the looming future.
Today’s Gospel reading continues in this apocalyptic them with a compassion of the fig tree coming to fruit and the sings of the coming of the Kingdom of God.
The fig tree has more potential than just the figs and fruit it produced. Fig trees are planted in vineyards to shelter the weaker vines. An old and elegant fig tree is a common site in many Mediterranean vineyards and has its own intrinsic value. It may even have vines wrapped around, bearing their own fruit.
It takes much tender care and many years – at least three years – for a fig tree to bear fruit. And even then, in a vineyard, the figs, are not a profit – they are a bonus.
When a tree bears fruit, the Mosaic Law said it could not be harvested for three years, and the fruit gathered in the fourth year was to be offered as the first fruits. Only in the fifth year, then, could the fruit be eaten.
The observations by Jesus on the fruiting fig tree are in sharp contrast to a short parable earlier in this Gospel (Luke 13) where a man wanted to tear up a freshly-planted fig tree:
Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down”.’ (Luke 13: 6-9).
If this tree had been chopped down, and another put its place, it would take longer still to get fruit that could be eaten or sold. In his quest for the quick buck, the owner of the vineyard shows little knowledge about the reality of economics.
The gardener, who has nothing at stake, turns out to be the one not only has compassion, but has deep-seated wisdom too.
Three years, and three more years, and then the fruit.
The fruit is only going to be profitable in its seventh year. Then, between Chapter 13 and Chapter 21, the fig tree becomes a sign ‘that the kingdom of God is near.’
What do we dismiss in life because it is too young and without fruit, or too old and gnarled, only to realise when it is too late that we are failing to see signs ‘that the kingdom of God is near’?
In the parable of the fig tree, we are called on to wait, we are urged not to be too hasty in our judgment on those who seem in our eyes to do nothing to improve their lot.
But I can decide where I place my trust – in the values that I think serve me but serve the rich, the powerful and the oppressor, or in the God who sees our plight, who hears our cry, and who comes in Christ to deliver us.
Today’s Prayers (Friday 29 November 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 29 November 2024) invites us to pray:
We look forward to the age of peace, when violence is banished, both women and men can love and be loved, and the work and wealth of our world is justly shared.
The Collect:
Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion Prayer:
Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by you be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
God the Father,
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, one glory.
Collect on the Eve of Saint Andrew:
Almighty God,
who gave such grace to your apostle Saint Andrew
that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ
and brought his brother with him:
call us by your holy word,
and give us grace to follow you without delay
and to tell the good news of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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