There was an era when all grandmothers seemed to have a bowl of wax fruit as a sort of centerpiece on their dining room tables. It was not only popular, but may have been government mandated. And as a youth I remember playing with the apple, orange, pear, banana…and squeezing the plastic red and white grapes; all the while wishing that they were real so I could eat them.
In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus, who is hungering, comes upon a similar instance. Yet instead of wax fruit, He finds a fig tree full of leaves, but with no fruit. Thus, He curses it, and it withers.” (Matthew 21:19)
The message and meaning of this “destructive” miracle is quite clear. As followers of Christ, we are expected to grow and bear fruit, not just leaf out and take up space. And the fruit that we produce must also be real fruit – fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Fr. John
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