Saturday after the Eighth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 31, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 21:18-22 (NKJV)
21:18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and o not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Devotion
The fig tree was a warning against unfruitfulness. St. Mark sets forth the account of the withering of the fig tree surrounding the account of the Lord driving the moneychangers from the temple (Mark 11:12-24). The appearances of the temple—like that of the fig tree—appeared to proclaim fruitfulness, but when inspected by the Lord, both were lacking fruit.
It was thus that, in Luke 13, the Lord called upon those who heard Him to repent, lest they perish. He then spoke a parable to them: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ” (v. 6–9) For three years, there was no repentance during the time of the Lord’s ministry leading up to His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. The time was swiftly approaching when judgment would descend on Jerusalem on account of a lack of repentance.
We have the consolation of the divine Word when we make confession of our sins, assuring us that our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.
Prayer: Grant to us, Lord, we beseech Thee, the Spirit to think and do always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do anything that is good without Thee, may by Thee be enabled to live according to Thy will; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
