By Their Fruits You Will Know Them

By Melanie Rigney

June 27, 2007

Wednesday of the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds! Sing praise, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds! Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! Rely on the mighty LORD; constantly seek his face. Recall the wondrous deeds he has done, his signs and his words of judgment…” (Psalm 105:1-5)

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

Piety

Teach me discernment, dear Father. Give me the wisdom to distinguish the good fruit from the bad, even as I proclaim your love and Word to all.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/062707.shtml

Who are the false prophets in today’s world? Politicians on the right? Or on the left? Those who profess to see visions? Or those who rebuke them? Those who report entertainment news? Or those “celebrities” who act outrageously?

These verses from Matthew are hard to understand, harder still to digest, beyond the basic visual of picking “grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles.” A rotten tree that does not bear fruit at all is a concept far easier to accept than that any fruit from such a tree is automatically bad. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, as the saying goes.

A surf of the Internet finds condemnation through these verses of those who believe in apparitions at Medugorje in Bosnia-Herzgovina as well as those who disparage the believers; of the condemnation of all non-Catholics as well as of all Catholics.

It is amazing, the number of people who are so certain of their ability to interpret Matthew. As humans, we are fallible. Let us remember Jesus’ greatest teachings to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and pray to the Lord and to our Church leaders for guidance in what is truly “bad fruit” and what is unripened fruit, waiting for the nourishment of The Word.

Action

Just for today, keep track of broad generalizations you make: “Bush is the devil,” “the Democrats are enabling the terrorists,” “women can’t drive,” “men never share.” Review your list tonight when you say your prayers, and reflect on the “evidence” or lack thereof that prompted the statement. Ask for God’s help in discerning between bad and unripened fruit.