Day 159: Bearing Fruit (2024)

This episode explores the symbolic and direct teachings of Jesus regarding faith, responsibility, and the importance of spiritual fruitfulness as depicted in Mark chapters 11 and 12.

1. Faith is Active: Jesus' cursing of the fig tree symbolizes the expectation of active, not passive, faith.
2. Spiritual Accountability: The story of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple illustrate the need for spiritual fruitfulness and purity.
3. Authority and Obedience: Jesus asserts His divine authority and challenges societal and religious norms, questioning the integrity of religious leaders.
4. Practical Faith: The episodes of paying taxes and discussing resurrection emphasize practical aspects of faith that affect daily decisions and beliefs.
5. Compassion and Giving: The widow’s offering teaches the value of sacrificial giving, showing that true giving is measured by the cost to the giver, not the amount.

1. Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem

Discusses Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the symbolic act of cursing a fig tree to illustrate expectations of faithfulness. Fr. Mike Schmitz: "He is going to stay in Jerusalem through the passion, through his death and resurrection this whole time."

2. Cleansing the Temple

Covers Jesus' cleansing of the temple, highlighting the corruption and commercialization of sacred spaces. Fr. Mike Schmitz: "Jesus is letting people know, okay, you are God's people. Are you living like you're God's people?"

3. Teachings and Parables

Explores various teachings and parables Jesus offers about faith, authority, and the kingdom of God. Fr. Mike Schmitz: "But also, the reason you belong to me is to bear fruit."

4. The Widow’s Offering

Reflects on the profound lesson of generosity and sacrifice from the poor widow's offering. Fr. Mike Schmitz: "This poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury."

1. Evaluate Spiritual Fruitfulness: Regularly assess your life for spiritual fruits such as love, peace, and patience.
2. Practice Authentic Faith: Engage in actions that reflect a genuine relationship with God, beyond mere words.
3. Cultivate Generosity: Embrace sacrificial giving, recognizing its value in spiritual growth.
4. Embrace Spiritual Cleansing: Regularly seek personal renewal and purification to align closer with divine expectations.
5. Seek Divine Guidance in Decisions: In your daily decisions, consider what aligns with God’s will and teachings.

As we read about Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, Fr. Mike breaks down Jesus' interactions with his disciples and the sadducees, and his reaction to the widow's offering. We learn that a life rooted in Jesus, is a life that bears good fruit. Today we read Mark 11-12 and Psalm 67.

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Fr. Mike Schmitz

Content Warnings:

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Fr. Mike Schmitz
Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Bible in a year podcast where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in Year podcast is brought to you by ascension using the great adventure Bible timeline. We'll read all the way from Genesis to revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story. Today it is day 159.

We are almost at day 160, which is pretty great. And we're reading from the Gospel of St. Mark, chapters eleven and twelve. We're also praying psalm 67, as always. The Bible translation that I am reading from is the revised standard Version, the second catholic edition, and I am using the great Adventure Bible from Ascension.

If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com bibleinaear. You can also subscribe to this podcast if the application in which you listen to this podcast is subscribable to is it possible to subscribe if that's a thing? As I said, today is day 159. We're reading. As you can know, we're getting close.

We're getting close to the end of the story. There's only 16 chapters in Mark's Gospel. It's the shortest gospel of all of them. And we are already at chapter chapter eleven. So we have, including today, three days, and including today we have six chapters.

And so we are with Jesus as he enters into Jerusalem, as he continues this journey to the cross. But it doesn't end there, as we know, goes through the cross to the grave, to the resurrection. And so we walk with Jesus today in Mark, chapter eleven and twelve, and in psalm 67, the Gospel of St. Mark, chapter eleven, Jesus entry into Jerusalem. And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied on which no one has ever sat.

Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, why are you doing this? Say the Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately. And they went away and found a colt tied at the door out in the open street, and they untied it. And those who stood there said to them, what are you doing untying the colt?

And they told them what jesus had said, and they let them go, and they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments on it, and he sat upon it. And many spread their garments on the road and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed cried out, Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming.

Hosanna in the highest. And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked round at everything as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. Jesus curses the fig tree. On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry and seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf.

He went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said, may no one ever eat fruit from you again. And his disciples heard it. Jesus cleanses the temple.

And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple. And he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he taught and said to them, is it not written, my house shall be called the house of prayer for all the nations?

But you have made it a den of robbers. And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and sought a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came, they went out of the city. The lesson from the withered fig tree. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

And Peter remembered and said to him, master, look. The fig tree which you cursed has withered. And Jesus answered them, have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it and you will.

And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your father also, who is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses. Jesus authority is questioned. And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him. And they said to him, by what authority are you doing these things?

Or who gave you this authority to do them? Jesus said to them, I will ask you a question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John, from heaven or from men? Answer me.

And they argued with one another. If we say from heaven, he will say, why then did you not believe him? But shall we say from men? They were afraid of the people. For all held that John was a real prophet.

So they answered, Jesus, we do not know. And Jesus said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The parable of the wicked tenants. And he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it. And dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty handed. Again he sent to them another servant. And they wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another. And him they killed.

And so with many others. Some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, they will respect my son. But those tenants said to one another, this is the heir.

Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture?

The very stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. And they tried to arrest him, but feared the multitude, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. The question about paying taxes.

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians. To entrap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, teacher, we know that you are true and care for no man. For you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Should we pay them or should we not? But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, why, put me to the test? Bring me a coin and let me look at it. And they brought one. And he said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this?

They said to him, Caesar's. Jesus said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they were amazed at him. The question about man's resurrection and sadducees came to him who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child.

The man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother. There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and when he died, he left no children. And the second took her and died, leaving no children. And the third likewise.

And the seven left no children. Last of all, the woman also died in the resurrection. Whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife. Jesus said to them, is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?

For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven? And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush. How God said to him, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living? You are quite wrong.

The first commandment. And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another. And seeing that he answered them well, asked him, which commandment is the first of all? Jesus answered, the first is, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is one.

And you shall love the Lord your God. With all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him, you are right, teacher.

You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength. And to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that, he answered wisely. He said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God.

And after that, no one dared to ask him any question. A question about the Christ. And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, how can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared the Lord, said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I put your enemies under your feet. David himself calls him Lord.

So how is he his son? And the great throng heard him gladly. Jesus denounces the hypocrisy of the scribes. And in his teaching he said, beware of the scribes. Who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places, and the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows houses, and for a pretence make long prayers, they will receive the greater condemnation.

The widow's offering. And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums, and a poor widow came and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury, for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had her whole living.

Psalm 67 the nations called to praise God to the choirmaster with stringed instruments, a psalm, a song. May God be gracious to us, and bless us, and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, o God. Let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy for you.

Judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, o God. Let all the peoples praise you. The earth has yielded its increase. God our God has blessed us.

God has blessed us. Let all the ends of the earth fear him.

Father in heaven, you have blessed us. And ah gosh, Lord, every single day you you give us the blessing of a new day. Every single day you give us the blessing of your mercy. Your mercies are new every single morning. Lord God.

And you give us a new day every single morning, a new day to honor you. A new day to know you better. A new day to let you love us. And that is Lord God. It all comes down to this.

It all comes down to will we let you love us? Will we let you be the Lord of our lives? Will we allow ourselves to reveal your image? And will we receive your inscription upon our hearts that we love you with everything we have and everything we are, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Lord God, help us first to be loved as fully as we possibly can by you.

Help us to give you permission once again to love us this morning, to forgive us this morning, and to give us your grace. Help us to give you the permission to claim us as yours. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. Okay, so here we go. We have in chapters eleven and twelve this is a shift, right? So what's happening is Jesus has gotten to Jerusalem. He is going to stay in Jerusalem through the passion, through his death and resurrection this whole time.

So, you know, tomorrow we're taking those next steps, and tomorrow we're going to start the conspiracy to kill Jesus. The last Supper, Peter's denial, Gethsemane. But today we're in the days leading up to Jesus betrayal. And so in chapter eleven, we can recognize that the stakes are getting higher and higher. And Jesus teachings here in Mark's gospel are becoming more and more pointed.

What I mean by that is as Jesus rides into the city of Jerusalem on a colt, right? And they're saying Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is the kingdom of our father David, that is coming. Hosanna in the highest. He enters the temple and he goes into the place of the temple.

And then what happens is, now Mark puts this intermediary story of Jesus cursing the fig tree the next day and goes back to the temple. In other gospels, it doesn't necessarily have that. It just kind of depicts Jesus going into the temple and cleansing it right away. But that is what this is all about. Jesus is letting people know, letting the people of Israel, the people of the covenant, the people that we've been walking with in the Old Testament this whole time, letting them know, okay, you are God's people.

Are you living like you're God's people? That you have been chosen among all the nations of the world, that through you, God will bless the entire world? Are you living like this? And he's asking for the fruits. And this is why we have this really kind of strange image of Jesus.

Looks like he's having a bad day, he's hungry, goes to the fig tree, and he wants to get some figs, but doesn't find any figs on it. And even Mark even points it out that Peter must have told him it wasn't the season for figs, and yet Jesus curses. He says, may no one ever eat the fruit from you again. And the next day they go back to it and it's withered to the roots. Now, this is not just Jesus having a bad day, because this is Jesus, right?

This is Jesus teaching his disciples something very, very clearly. And he's using this opportunity of looking for figs on a fig tree, not finding any as their teaching moment. Why? Because he's teaching them that the people of Israel are the fig tree, and they're supposed to be demonstrating the fruit of belonging to the one God. They're supposed to be demonstrating the fruit to the nations.

And this is everything we've been hearing about in the Old Testament up until this point is, okay, you've been made into my people now bear fruit. We know that this is the case because of the very next parable that Jesus tells in chapter twelve, the parable of the wicked tenants. That here's a landowner. He builds a vineyard, plants a vineyard, builds a tower, all these things. Leases that to tenants, those tenants again, once again, are the jewish people, the jewish leaders, basically saying, yeah, the time for harvest is here.

Where is the fruit? Show me the money. And they're not doing this. They're not handing over any of the fruit of what is essentially the landowner, aka God himself, his land, his vineyard. And this is the case for every single one of us, is that Jesus is pointing out to those people at the time, pointing out, okay, if you belong to me, it's great because the reason you belong to me is because I love you.

But also, also the reason you belong to me is to bear fruit. The reason you belong to me is so that I can bless the world through you. So demonstrate the fruit. And this is just so, so key. In John's gospel, Jesus makes this really clear as well.

He says, by this is the father glorified, that you remain in me and bear much fruit. This is the key that a fruitless disciple of Jesus. The question you have to ask is, are they even a disciple of Jesus? A disciple of Jesus that doesn't bear fruit, have to ask the question, are they even a disciple of Jesus? Now, that doesn't mean that there's someone who has converted millions or converted thousands or converted hundreds.

It basically means, but where's the fruit in your life? And the fruit can be other people's conversions. Yes, but it also can be the fruits of the spirit, right? Things like love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control. Those things are the fruits of the spirit.

And if we belong to Christ, we should be able to show him, oh, here are the fruits. Now, again, this is not the, sorry, I'm going on a tangent, but please come with me on this one. This doesn't mean that we've created those gifts, those fruits in ourselves, but they are the natural or supernatural outgrowth of a life rooted in Jesus. Those things like, again, love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control, those chastity, self control, those things are the fruits of a life lived in Christ. And when Jesus looks for fruit on the fig tree and doesn't find any, he says, okay, basically, you know, at some point, the time is going to be up.

At some point. At some point, the landowner is going to return. At some point, you're going to look for figs on the fig tree, and there needs to be fruit. And that's what Jesus is saying. At some point, I'm gonna come again, and I need the fruit to be there.

Moving on. Just because it's so good. When Jesus cleanses the temple, there's something powerful about this. Because not only is he revealing that the Father's house, this temple area, is a house of prayer. But also, when you were baptized, you're made into a temple of the Holy Spirit.

You're made a temple of the Holy Spirit. And so now the living temple, you're walking around as a living temple. And one of the things that Jesus does is he cleanses the temple. And so we have to allow ourselves not to. Only to bear fruit in his name, but also to be cleansed by him.

Recognizing that what does Jesus say is not my father's house, my house shall be called the house of prayer for all the nations. You made it a den of robbers. And so in my life, again, if God is made by body into a temple of the Holy Spirit, he made your body a temple of the Holy Spirit. That means with our body and in our bodies, we need to use them to glorify him. So much so that that's actually God's destiny for us in eternity.

Because in chapter twelve, it tells the story about the sadducees coming to Jesus. And challenging the idea of the resurrection of the body. Now, the Sadducees and the Pharisees disagreed on a number of things. The Sadducees only believed in the first five books of the Bible, the first five books of Moses. And they didn't pay attention to any of the other books, at least, didn't consider them aspired.

And so they had some disagreements when it came to between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Among those disagreements were about the resurrection of the body, about angels, that kind of thing. And here's the Sadducees coming to Jesus. And posing this hypothetical question that, what if this woman marries all seven brothers? Because that was the law of Moses?

Whose wife is she? In this so called resurrection of yours and Jesus, he gives him a harsh burn. He says, is not this why you are wrong? You know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. But basically, in heaven there is no marriage.

Because marriage is meant to get you to heaven. Marriage is meant to be one of the ways in which you die to yourself out of love for Christ and love for others that conforms you to Christ and helps you be what St. Paul writes in Ephesians chapter five. Like when he says, husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and laid down himself for her, and so that laid down his life for her. And that call to lay down our lives for spouses, that purifies and sanctifies.

And it's so good that the burn that Jesus has on the sadducees. Lastly, gosh, there's so much to talk about. That's why I'm so sorry. We're going. We're going a mile a minute, aren't we?

Ah, but the last little snippet before chapter 13 is about the widow's offering and how Jesus is watching people put large amounts of money into the treasury. And then this one woman comes up and she's got two copper coins which make one penny. And he says, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury, for they contributed out of their abundance. And she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, her whole living. You know, the tithe, the tithe historically is a 10th, right?

It's a 10th of one's income. And so the idea behind that is that one would give the first 10% of their income. The first 10%. No, that's not necessarily what we believe as Catholics. We believe that we're obliged to support the church and the mission of Christ to whatever degree we can.

So there's not a number attached to it in the catholic church. But we are still encouraged, right, to give whatever those first fruits are. And maybe it's a 10th, maybe it's more than a 10th, maybe it's less than a 10th. But here's this poor widow, and what she does is she doesn't just give the first 10%. Here she is, and she's giving her last 10%.

I mean, this woman is not just giving that first fruits, she's giving her very last fruits, her final fruits. And that's the key for so many of us, is once you've mastered this recognition of, okay, my first fruits belong to Jesus, to then have to experience that conviction of you know what. And so do my final fruits. From my first to the last, from the beginning to the end, everything I have belongs to him. And here's Jesus praising this woman who just puts in one penny, one penny, but all she had, not out of her abundance, but out of her absolute need.

So when it comes to the Lord today, how can I give him my first fruits? How can I give him my final fruits? How can I love him not just in word or in. In speech, but also in deed and in truth? How can I love him with my entire life today, with my first fruits.

With my final fruits. We can only do this with God's grace. Because again, all the fruits of the spirit. Again, they're fruits of the spirit. They're not fruits of the flesh.

They're not fruits of my own wanting to do this or willing or working hard at it. These are the fruits of a life that has been conformed to Jesus and is handed over to him. We can only do that with God's grace. So let's pray for each other. I am praying for you.

Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.