God Hates Figs

"Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, [Jesus] went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard it."
Mark 11:13-14

This passage has troubled me for a long time, for it is a harsh curse from Jesus.  Now, don't get me wrong, Jesus does use many strong and harsh statements throughout the gospels, but, for some reason, this one seems to be among the harshest.  Maybe it's because of the fact that it's to a tree, which, in my experience, kind of just does its own thing (of course, my gardening skills are sub-par at best).  Maybe it's because the tree ended up withering away very soon after (Mark 11:20).  Jesus kills a tree with his words.
But, then I remember, God has the final word: the word is Jesus.  So, this has to have some sort of meaning for me, right?  God, Love, speaks to me through Jesus, but I feel stumped with this passage.
In my attempts to understand this, I have turned to other sources to "check" if my own suspicions are right.
But, of course, this unschooled guy here thinks of something that is totally off from what the authorities teach: that this is a prophecy against Israel for not producing fruit.
I don't want to let this passage to be just a prophecy for the Jews of their impending tribulations.  I feel that it speaks to me in this way:
A great tree that bears a promise of good fruit (fig newtons, anyone?) is replete with leaves well before fig-season.  What a gift it is for that tree!  I would be so excited if I saw something like that when I was hungry.  And now we have Jesus, about whom the gospel writers rarely state that he is hungry.  And, he goes to the tree, and there's nothing but leaves.  I already hear the words of a parable, where the sprout of the Gospel grows too quickly with such a small root that it dies out, for that is what this tree is: lots of growth with little to offer.  The tree is just showing off for no reason.  The tree deceives.  And so, Jesus commands the tree to die.  Now, there is no longer a deceiving plant, but shriveled pride.  

"He who has little will have it taken away from him."

The thing that punches me, though, is that Mark writes that Jesus replies to the tree, as if the tree were a person and had spoken something to Jesus. (Frequently, in Mark, whenever Jesus replies to his disciples or anyone else, the Greek phrase ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν 'he said in response' appears.)  So, now we have a tree that's like, "Jesus, here I am in all my glory.  Go away from your path and come to me."
Then, I think about how I am.  God has given me many talents, and many times I feel like I am just using them for my own gain.  Sometimes, when I pray, I feel that I am asking for something that is just for me and not for my job in life.  God works through each of us with our talents.  However, God counts on us making a good use of our talents.  So, instead of showing off our talents to lead others astray, wondering why they aren't good enough or why they don't have what another might have (despite lacking in their hearts), we should work together to cultivate each other's talents and incorporate them into the great garden that is the Kingdom of God.  For, we are all seeds that are wandering and beaten through the chaos that is this world, but we have one in heaven who is waiting with a watering can and a shovel to cultivate us into a wonderful tree with many fruits to offer.

Sam van Aken "Tree of 40 Fruit"