The Lesson of the Fig Tree

29 Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees;³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Exhortation to Watch

34 ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly,³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’

37 Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called.³⁸And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.

Jewish image of saints

When I was preparing a sermon on this passage I was struck by the phrase “stand before the Son of Man.” For the “Son of Man” means the rule of God’s saints, led by Jesus. Not Jesus alone that is, but Jesus with God’s saints. And I thought of the saints I’ve known in life and wondered if I’ be embarrassed standing before them. I concluded I would. I thought of my boyhood saint, Gib Gillies, a primary head teacher who became my mentor as a teenager. A man of very dry humour, he believed passionately that every child had intelligence and that the task of education was to find it. In Church Bible Class he asked the terrible question, “What do you think?” making each of us responsible for our own faith. I thought of Church Deacon Alice Scrimigeour giving a lifetime of devoted, spirited, joyful attention to children from very poor homes, showing an example of tireless affection towards difficult people. I thought of Bill Daniel, the beadle of one of the churches I served, showing the dignity of service, cleaning the  church building, setting chairs for meeting, welcoming anybody who came to the building, encouraging its ministers, and all with a calm grace. Yes I’ll be embarrassed to stand before them, forced to admit that I’ve not made good use of my intelligence, nor had enough affection for difficult people nor been prepared to serve with humility. But they, seeing my embarrassment, will try to tell Jesus about the good they glimpsed in me. Their presence will make the encounter with Jesus less scary, not really because they’ll intervene on my behalf but because they’ll remind me that He has already intervened on my behalf.

In relation to Jesus’ words about heaven and earth passing away, there’s a very beautiful poem by the great Spanish poet Antonio Machado: 

Wake-up call

Yo amo a Jesús, que nos dijo:

Cielo y tierra pasarán.

Cuando cielo y tierra pasen

mi palabra quedará.

¿Cuál fué, Jesús, tu palabra?

¿Amor? ¿Perdón? ¿Caridad?

Todas tus palabras fueron

una palabra: Velad.

I love Jesus who told us:

Heaven and earth will pass away.

When heaven and earth are past

My word will stay.

What was your word, Jesus?

Love? Forgiveness? Care?

All of your words were

Only one: Wakeup.

Trans: MM 2012. Machado, Antonio (2011-03-18). Times Alone: Selected Poems of Antonio Machado (Wesleyan Poetry in Translation) (Kindle Locations 1791-1796). Wesleyan University Press. Kindle Edition.

Yes, that’s it. Jesus’ life and death and rising (esp. his rising!) is a grand wake-up call to the world.