Many unless they face the truth may not even realise that their faith has dried up within them. They bore no fruit for the Lord, for their loved ones or their community. They may have not turned to do evil, however their good names whatever their personal achievements will not be remembered as mentioned in today’s first reading. Some had refused to worship our Lord together with His community because they stubbornly refused to adjust to the confines and restrictions we all have to face together to get through this pandemic. There are many others who have allowed the ways of the world to turn their Holy Temples of the Holy Spirit into a robbers den! Seeking personal comforts, drink, food, gambling, gratifying their sexual desires.
Disciples of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ know that we are called to bear fruit both in and out of Season. So whether it rains or shines, pandemic or no pandemic, we are called to build His Kingdom and to glorify Him by our lives. Does it mean we do not feel helpless or hesitant at times? No of course we do, but we can turn to our Lord in steadfast prayer for help to do what we must. With mercy and faith in Him in our hearts our Lord promises us, “I tell you therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours.” Let us not forget that we had just celebrated the joy of His Resurrection at Eastertide and have received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit last Sunday at Pentecost.
For those who have fallen behind, fret not and know that Our Lord loves You and will not abandon you. So long as there is breath in you, turn back to Him with all your heart. He will cleanse you from within so that you can once again live free in His love. Amen
First reading
Ecclesiasticus 44:1,9-13
Let us praise illustrious men
Let us praise illustrious men,
our ancestors in their successive generations.
Some have left no memory,
and disappeared as though they had not existed,
they are now as though they had never been,
and so too, their children after them.
But here is a list of generous men
whose good works have not been forgotten.
In their descendants there remains
a rich inheritance born of them.
Their descendants stand by the covenants
and, thanks to them, so do their children’s children.
Their offspring will last for ever,
their glory will not fade.
Gospel
Mark 11:11-26
The fig tree; the cleansing of the Temple
After he had been acclaimed by the crowds, Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked all round him, but as it was now late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Next day as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry. Seeing a fig tree in leaf some distance away, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. And he addressed the fig tree. ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ he said. And his disciples heard him say this.
So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples? But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’ This came to the ears of the chief priests and the scribes, and they tried to find some way of doing away with him; they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by his teaching. And when evening came he went out of the city.
Next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered to the roots. Peter remembered. ‘Look, Rabbi,’ he said to Jesus, ‘the fig tree you cursed has withered away.’ Jesus answered, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you solemnly, if anyone says to this mountain, “Get up and throw yourself into the sea,” with no hesitation in his heart but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours. And when you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anybody, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your failings too. But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your failings either.’
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