Holy Week Monday sermon (Year B)

 Ps 69.1-23; Lam 1.1-2,6-12; Mk 11.12-25

Mark’s Gospel-- generally brief, and abrupt; yet in Holy Week we see a difference.

A third of the gospel addresses Holy Week.  This shortest collection of knowledge and teachings of the life and ministry of Jesus -  Also the most details about the final week.

And in tonight’s passage, Jesus acts in ways that seem incomprehensible.
NOT to confuse, but to illuminate in a different way.

Rowan Williams puts it this way: (Page 41)

Jesus challenges his followers - in the narrative and in the pews today -
To look and see. To notice - to pay attention.

The most obvious attention-getting place in tonight’s scriptures is the aggressive behaviour outside the Temple - and many would wish to overlook this angry outburst as un-Jesus-like frustrations. We know that The money changers and marketplace were an exploitative system where the mighty preyed upon the weak, and inequality was celebrated.

Yet Mark invites us to consider these actions in a different way - to see them in a new light. He showed his disciples - in a manner that could not be overlooked - the extreme inappropriateness of what was happening.

It’s also good to note Jesus’ claim that the temple was meant to be a house of prayer for all the nations - not just a house of prayer, as the other gospel accounts identify. For Mark, the context of inclusivity and genuine welcome was more than a little important.

Jesus is challenging the systems and structures that were prevalent in society; systems that he knew were unsustainable and were not helpful to the kingdom. It is reminiscent of the reading we have from Jeremiah’s Lamentation tonight, speaks of a community being oppressed, torn apart by apathy; with onlookers not even seeing what’s happening.

Yet they have become so commonplace, that folks don’t know they should be challenging them. And Jesus makes sure that his friends notice.

And so here we are given a message that inspires us to consider what we bring with us, when we are seeking relationship with God and with each other - and contemplate on how Jesus would feel about our interactions.

The people who should care - are unable to see the need for justice.
But it’s the fig tree that garners the most attention, according to tonight’s scriptures. The fig tree, which did not have fruit. But it wasn’t meant to have fruit at that time. It was out of season.  Yet Jesus curses it; that it may never grow fruit again.

How fascinating that the failure to thrive is then seen, noticed, and recognized by the disciples when the tree is withered the next day.  Withered trees could mean any number of things: disease, disaster, intentional destruction.

In Biblical times, Fig trees represented Israel; thus withered fig tree identified a community that was failing to thrive - imagery that would not have been lost on the disciples.

And that this fig tree narrative sandwiches around the temple experience - Mark was famous for this technique, using it to invite the reader to make the connection between a withering community and a withering tree.

…and - for the disciples to pay attention to what God’s message to them is: Trust God. Have faith. Even with things that seem too big to address ourselves (like moving mountains), the disciples are reminded of the power of prayer, of forgiveness, of fruitful, faithful living.  

Which, in turn, invites us, this Holy Week, to consider our own community:

Where do we see folks suffering, and how do we lift them up?
Where do we encounter injustice, and challenge it?
When do we recognize our own participation in unjust structures, and how do we adapt our own lives?

For the message we hear tonight is one of challenge: to see, not just observe, what is going on in our own world. This is our opportunity; it is our responsibility.

To pray; not to get what we want, but to align our hearts with the will of God.
To have faith; that sustains us and opens our eyes and hearts to new ways of sharing the love of Christ.

For if we wish to be fruitful in our faith, we must be careful to bear fruit: to provide circumstances for healthy growth, to live within reasonable expectations of ourselves and others, to embrace faithful practices that all may flourish.

And when we embrace the same invitation of trusting God and having faith, we find ourselves doing the hard work of building community- of overturning oppression - of encouraging the fullness of life that has been promised us.

And in this place: of connection, of humble self-reflection, of opening our eyes and hearts in new ways to share the love of God: here we see the truth of the good news, in new life-giving ways. What a gift to see the living Christ accompanying us on our way.