Oh, Friends! Dear, dear friends. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! That’s Shakespeare isn’t it? Wow, high school memory flooding back… where did that come from? Anyway, the point is, friends, we are back after a very long two week or so break. And I have no excuse for it. Well, I have an explanation, but it’s not a real excuse. Truth is, the last two weeks have been really crazy and weird at our house, and there simply wasn’t the time, motivation, opportunity, or the well-with-all to sit down for the few hours it takes to write. And I really don’t know where the time went. Work hours were odd, the family was here and there, the nights were spent doing other things… and well, here we are two weeks later! Yet, here we are. And so, I greet you again, as friends who give me a little writing grace now and then.

So. We had started our little “theme” with some plants and I’m back with another one. For some reason, the humble fig tree has been on my mind. I don’t think I have ever seen a fig tree in real life. Certainly not with figs growing on it. Wikipedia tells me it’s tropical, so likely why I’ve never seen one here in Canada. The snow here has FINALLY begun to melt and now we are in the throws of spring thaw… and flooding. Fig trees likely wouldn’t do very well in our yard… I hear they like dry soils. Therefore, I shall buy my dried figs at the supermarket. Dried because I don’t think I’ve ever had a fresh fig either.

Do you like figs? Apparently they are good for you: Raw figs are 79% water, 19% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contain negligible fat. What’s the difference between a raw fig and a dried fig? Does raw mean fresh? What’s in a in a “fig newton” (gee, another blast from the past… do they still make fig newtons?). Or in shampoo? I think there’s figs in soap? Perhaps this is why fig trees were on my mind. They are interesting creatures. Slightly exotic, slightly humble, all ancient toga party. On the snack table of Queen Esther. Or at least in her soap.

Specifically though, I was thinking about when Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11. It happened during Holy Week near Jerusalem… Jesus was hungry, notices a seemingly lush fig tree, discovers no actual figs, only leaves, and then curses it to never bear fruit again. Seems harsh, but here’s the lesson: Symbolically, we could say that Jesus was saying “You’ve put all kinds of energy into productivity, but you aren’t producing real fruit; the church is active… but useless.” Ouch. Two weeks of time, not one post. People are spiritually hungry and we do lots of community events, but are we feeding them what they need? Has the church done enough, have I, as a child of God, done enough? Have you? Remember, this is mitton musings.… I just think about things. I don’t judge, nor do I have all the answers. I simply present “food for thought”.

Which also had me thinking about the whole idea of cursing some poor tree. Cursing in general. The spiritual battle is real. I don’t want to say these last few weeks have been “cursed”, but certainly they have been oppressive. Another interesting fig tree fact? Fig tree sap/leaves contain a substance called Furocoumarins (5-methoxypsoralen), an enzyme that when exposed to UV rays, can cause skin irritation. Can we say that when spiritual opposition comes into the light… we get irritated? I dunno, that may be a stretch. Let’s just go back to saying Jesus wants us to bear fruit, not just be productive.

So. There ya have it. Fig tree. A Muse. I’ve posted. Short, but to the point I think. And I hope it gave you real food for thought, and not just another post to read. I’ll be back. Hopefully sooner this time. Enjoy your Holy week. Perhaps have some figs. Blessings.