Brittle vs. Supple Twigs
In this part of the sermon: Martin expounds the parable of the fig tree (Mark 13:28-29), explaining its imagery of tender branches and sprouting leaves as a clear sign of summer's nearness, applying it to…
Martin describes his habit of breaking off brittle twigs in winter while running, contrasting it with the difficulty of breaking supple, sap-filled twigs in spring. This illustrates how the fig tree's tender branches signal the nearness of summer, just as specific signs indicate Jerusalem's destruction.
That was a tree that, like most of the trees we're familiar with, lost its leaves in the winter and sprouted its leaves in the late spring. So our Lord says, with respect to the fig tree, you have observed something. That when her branch becomes tender and it is literally putting forth its leaves as a process, you know that the summer is near. Now, in the path that I usually use when I run, I'm reminded of this and it came to my mind in my preparation that often there are parts, twigs of trees overhanging the place where I run. And I'm fearful that I might sometime, if I'm concentrating, poke ...
16:05 - 17:10 Read in full sermon