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Homily for Friday of the 34th Week in OT, 29 Nov 2024, Lk 21:29-33
“Consider the fig tree…”, Jesus says in today’s Gospel. Two Sundays ago (on the 33rd Sunday of Year B from Mark 13:24-32), we heard Mark’s parallel to this narrative. But there, Jesus says, “Learn a lesson from the fig tree.”
Let me just repeat today the thoughts that i shared two Sundays ago on that reading for the 33rd Sunday B about two lessons that we can learn from nature, not just from fig trees:
-firstly, that nature gives you enough signs in the present to be able to tell what is to come;
-and secondly, that nature makes us aware of the fact that all things are passing and that we must keep ourselves grounded on that which lasts forever: God’s Word.
in ancient Israel, ancient prophets were called “seers”, “visionaries” or fortune-tellers who could predict the future. But the later tradition of Israel departed from the fortune-telling business. Predicting the future became only secondary. What became more important was understanding the present in relation to the past; and proceeding from there towards knowing what lies ahead in the future.
I think this is the kind of “understanding” or “wisdom that Jesus is talking about in our Gospel when he says “Learn a lesson from the fig tree.” Nature makes us aware of how the past has brought about the present, and therefore gives us enough signs in the present to be able to foretell the future. It is of course not always automatic, because there are always unpredictable variables: like unforeseen typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters. But look, even science is now learning to do a weather forecast and foretell what the weather is going to be like in the coming days. They don’t need crystal balls to do that. They just need full awareness of the present data available: such as the heat factor, the wind precipitation, the cloud buildup, etc.
We do not even need superpowers or supernatural gifts to be able to have a sense of the future. You look at a person, you listen to him, you appreciate his gifts and somehow you are able to say—“You are going to be this or that, one of these days.” And it comes true. It’s not prediction; it’s sensitivity. It’s the gift of being able to process data from past experience and relating them to the present in a way that enables you to foretell with high probability what may come ahead.
The second important lesson from nature is this: all things are passing. Nature makes us aware of the fact that all created things are ephemeral. They are here now; they may no longer be here tomorrow. And so the saying goes, “You do not step on the same river twice.” It is in a constant flux. Even our bodies are constantly changing. Our cells are dying and regenerating. We’re almost totally new after one year. We cannot remain in the same physical structure that we had when we were born. And so we are challenged to keep ourselves grounded on that which truly lasts.
The Bible opens with that which brought about something from nothing: God’s Word. And God said, “Let there be this..let there be that…”. Everything that is brought about has a beginning and an end; every created thing is passing. Only one remains—that which created us; his word which brought us about. That is why we make it a point to be attentive to God’s Word, to the God who made us in his image and likeness, and made it possible for us to “hear his Word” when he speaks to us, and to respond to him. We call it prayer. Many men and women of prayer in history have recorded the lessons that they have learned from everyday experience, and the messages they draw from life as lessons from God.
