Some stories in the Bible are strange and difficult to understand. The story of Jesus cursing the fig tree is one of the strangest. Our difficulty in understanding the story stems first of all from the fact that we are unfamiliar with the culture and customs of Palestine in the time of Jesus. This will sometimes cause readers to ask questions which may be quite irrelevant.

In his public life, Jesus not only taught through words, in parables; like the great prophets he also taught through symbolic actions, "parables in action". In the Old Testament, the prophets sometimes performed what people felt were strange and not immediately intelligible actions. People had to ask for explanations for they realized that the prophet was conveying some teaching which they could not properly grasp. So, too, Peter, representing the whole group of apostles, at least indirectly asked for an explanation.

We, too, are challenged to wonder and to seek an answer. We can only turn to Jesus for an answer. Even if we do not see the connection between Jesus' words and the cursing of the fig tree, we can still listen attentively to Jesus' words and draw some spiritual fruit from his teaching on faith, prayer and forgiveness.