Reflection
Memorial of Saint Paul VI, Pope
…rejoice in the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.
-1 Peter 4:13
The themes of both readings are about the “end times” and how to prepare for these days. You can recall that after the Ascension of Jesus, the Apostles believed that he would return soon. They went about intensely preaching and teaching throughout the Roman world regarding the coming of the Kingdom of God. In today’s passage from the first Letter of Saint Peter, he tells the community to be clear minded, so that they can pray seriously. Serious prayers are not the prayers of someone who is drunk and not feeling well. Serious prayers are not the prayers of desperation, but prayers asking for grace to persevere through what is to come. Notice that Saint Peter then instructs the community to love one another intensely, to be hospitable, to use personal gifts to serve and that all is to be done through God and for the glory of God. Prayer, Love, and Service. The three essential actions that Jesus, Paul and Peter focus on in their preaching and teaching. Prayer, Love, and Service. Simple actions for us to show that we are Christians.
So how does the passage from the First Letter of Saint Peter connect to the passage from the Gospel of Mark, which recounts Jesus cursing a fig tree because it bore no fruit for him and Jesus’ clearing out the Temple. The fig tree is symbolic of the tree that Adam and Eve used to clothe themselves. It is also a symbol for Israel.
A fig tree blooming is also a sign that the “end times” are near. Jesus’ actions in the Temple remove the commercialization of the sacrificial animals and the exchanging of Roman coins for Temple coins.
Adam and Eve lost sight of why they were in the Garden of Eden because of the forbidden fruit that they ate. The Jewish leaders and Jews who wanted to make money lost sight of who they were waiting for and the three simple actions of Prayer, Love, and Service.
The lives of the people of Jesus’ and Peter’s time are quite similar to our lives today. All humans, through all times, have and will suffer. It is part of the human condition. In reading the First Letter of Saint Peter, he writes that we should not “be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you. . .” Our trials allow us to share in the sufferings of Christ and it is through that suffering “that his glory will be revealed”. Jesus prayed for and forgave those who condemned and crucified him as he hung on the Cross. Prayer, Love, and Forgiveness. Christ gave us the greatest example of how to walk through our suffering. May we all be blessed the grace to take up our own cross and carry it through Prayer, Love, and Forgiveness.
