GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 11:21
Aha Moments
Sometimes it takes a while for lessons to “sink in,” to reach the “Aha Moment” when the light bulb of the mind clicks on, sometimes called the “Eureka effect”—“eureka” being the Greek word “I have found.”
In the modern world of “plug and play” computer peripherals, I sometimes unplug one device and plug another in. I noticed, however, that when I unplugged an external drive and later plugged it back into a USB port, the drive’s directory was out of order. This happened more than once. Then I remembered that there is a required process for unmounting an external drive. When I followed the correct procedure, I could dismount and remount an external drive without difficulty—Aha!
One of the great pleasures of teaching is seeing a student’s eyes light up when they have an “Aha Moment,” and it is obvious that the concept came together in their mind.
One day following Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, the small group was returning to Jerusalem from Bethany, a walk of about two miles. “And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree having withered from the roots. And remembering, Peter said to him, ‘Rabbi, look, the fig tree which you cursed is withered.’” (Mark 11:20-21)
Writers often observe that Mark sandwiches stories. In this instance, he placed the cleansing of the temple between the cursing of the fig tree, which precedes it, and the moment when the disciples grasp the significance of the incident, which follows. The fig tree withered because it had leaves without fruit, much as the temple had the appearance of sacredness without its fruit.
Aha! I get the message.
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