Under the Fig Tree

I am a fan of the noble fig. When is the last time you ate a fig? I lived in Lubbock, Texas, and there in the backyard of the house on 43rd Street was a bush that produced fine figs. I liked having a sweet natural treat that grew in my own yard. Only years later did I see firsthand that the right variety of the plant could grow into a tree. My wide bush, four feet high, was small compared to the trees requiring a ladder to fully harvest them.

Figs crop up in the Bible many times: as the first human clothing in Genesis 3, as an image of the surprise of the final things in Revelation 6, and many times in between. The historical narrative in 1 Kings and the Prophets refers to them, with the idiom of “sitting under one’s vine and fig tree” as in Micah 4:4 referring to a time of peace and ease in one’s life. It hardens to a time free from the fear and obligation of military action. Next time you shop, get a pack of Fig Newtons; open them along with your Bible, and perhaps your web browser, and do a little research of your own, brachiating from fig tree to fig-tree through the Holy Scriptures.

I am interested in the reference to the fig tree in John 1:48 where Jesus said to Nathaniel, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Oddly enough, this statement, in an instant, turns Nathaniel, the friend of Philip, from doubting cynic to disciple. We will come back to that. John the Baptist put Philip onto Jesus, who then put his friend Nathaniel onto Jesus. Philip was a fast convert. His first master, John, pointed to Christ as the “Lamb of God.” He heads out quickly and enthusiastically to find his friend and tell him to come along. On your New Testament map in the back of your Bible, you can look to the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee and find three towns all within thirty miles of each other. Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathaniel from a rival town, Cana, ten miles away, and Philip’s seaside town, Bethsaida, was fifteen miles east of there.

When Philip found his friend, Nathaniel, he said, “We have discovered the one Moses and the prophets were referring to: he is Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathaniel flippantly retorts, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” There might have been something of a tension between Cana and Nazareth. Philip was patient and determined just suggesting he come and see for himself. As they approach Jesus, they hear, “Now here is a true man of Israel.” The skeptic chirps back, “How can you know me?” Jesus let him know that when he was underneath the fig tree before Philip called him, he saw him. That did it. No more smart talk, just a confession of devotion, “Master, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel!”

The fig tree, itself, is a scriptural symbol for Israel. Jesus calls Nathaniel an Israelite in whom there is no guile or deceit. Moreover, the poetic phrase of sitting beneath your vine and fig tree is a picture of Israel in comfort and at rest. Nathaniel is being moved from a grumpy Israelite at ease, to a joyful, energized disciple at risk. He is being called by Jesus to follow him, and it works. The way Jesus does this with disciples is in itself an example of Epiphany. It is a sign of the inner charisma and grace of the Anointed One as he calls people to follow. The glory of the Lord is revealed in the call and response of a follower.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you should take note of the wonder shone by your decision to learn from your Savior and follow the light of the world. That you do it, is a manifestation of glory. You have recognized that special something about Jesus. He has changed you just by speaking to you. Now, say to one another as we would say to anyone we care about, “Come and see!”

Ode to a Galilean Fig

O sticky fruit just picked from ‘neath grand leaf
with flesh so sweet as to delight the sense
you lift our thoughts away from doleful grief
convincing us we can’t stay on the fence.

Seed-laden fruit with thick fuzz-covered skin
what energy comes from your pulp and hide!
What new adventures do we feel within
that stir us on to follow our new Guide!

We’ll never be content to sit and gripe,
to hedge ourselves about in idle ease.
You’ve got us now, sweet fruit so soft and ripe
the master calls, this moment we must seize.

We’re grateful that you’ve nourished us to go.
the Master’s path to tread, his heart to know.