Out Our Way:

Mark 11:12-21: 'The fig tree'

Out our way, folks come to depend on each other, and it is something we tend to take for granted. Farmers help each other seed and bring in the crops. Ranchers help out at each other's roundups and brandings, and that same sense of neighbor is reflected in the small town as well.   

A classic example is the volunteer fire department. In the tiny town of Lingle, Wyoming, population 426, I joined the local fire department and became a "mudflap," as all rookies were called. I rode on the back of the fire trucks where rookies were assigned - hence the "mudflap" title -and went through training and then began to run the three blocks to the firehouse when the siren went off, hopping into my gear and jumping onto the truck to fight a fire somewhere in town, or more commonly, out at someone's ranch or farm.

I was proud to go about wearing my bright red volunteer fireman's jacket, to put on the helmet, the waterproof coat and coveralls and boots, and I even had a firefighter's badge to wear from time to time. But imagine if I had not gotten on the truck when the siren sounded? Imagine that, although I wore the jacket, had the helmet, coat, coveralls and boots, and even had the official badge, would I really be able to call myself a firefighter if I never actually fought fires?

In Goliath's parable, it is the story of the fig tree. Although green with abundant leaves, the fig tree produced no figs. It was a barren bush, and Christ cursed it for failing to be what it had been created to be: A bearer of figs. Shortly thereafter, the fig tree withered and died. Jesus explained to His followers that this was a parable for those who claimed to follow Him.

Jesus once said that we would be able to tell who was a follower and who was not "by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16), and also warned, "As they did or did not do it for others, they did or did not do it for Me" (Matthew 25:40 ff). The point is simple: We are called to serve God and neighbor, and either we do or we do not serve them. This is the fruit we are called to bear.

Many of you have heard my analogy of the church being like a ship. But what sort of ship is it? Is it a luxury liner designed to entertain and make comfortable the passengers? Or is it an aircraft carrier in which there are no passengers, only crew members, each of whom has been assigned a battle station as it carries out its mission?

The purpose of the church is to fertilize and stimulate the growth of the fruits of service. It is meant to equip us to take a Sunday morning faith into a Monday morning world, and carry it through the whole week long.

It was not my bright red fireman's jacket that made me a firefighter; it was not my helmet, coat, coveralls or boots, and it was certainly not my firefighter's badge. What made me a firefighter was that when the siren rang, I hopped on the truck, took my station and fought fires. 

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John Bruington serves at First Presbyterian Church in Havre, Montana. The book "Out Our Way: Theology Under Saddle" is available at Amazon.com.