Our so called “fruits”.

 If a tree is known by its fruits, by what fruit is a true Christian known?

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” .

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊   

2 King 22:8-13; 23:1-3

At that moment Hilkiah,

The high priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of Yahweh." And he entrusted the Book to Shaphan who read it. Then Shaphan went to the king and said, "We have gathered the money in the house and this has been turned over to the caretakers of the house to make the repairs."

 

And Shaphan added, "The priest Hilkiah has turned over a book to me." And Shaphan read the book to the king. When the king heard the contents of the book, he tore his clothes and commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, the secretary Shaphan, and Asaiah, his minister, to do the following, "Go and consult Yahweh about the threats in this book which you have found. Consult him for me, for the people and for the whole of Judah, since our fathers did not listen to what this book says nor to its ordinances. This is why the anger of Yahweh is ready to burn against us."

 

The king summoned to his side all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. Then he went up to the house of Yahweh, followed by all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The priests with the prophets and all the people went with him, from the youngest to the oldest. When all were gathered, he read to them the Book of the Law found in the house of Yahweh.

 

The king stood by the pillar; he made a Covenant in the presence of Yahweh, promising to follow him, to keep his commandments and laws, and to respect his ordinances. He promised to keep this Covenant according to what was written in the book with all his heart and with all his soul. And all the people promised with him.

 

Ps 119:33, 34, 36, 37, 40 Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

Matthew 7:15-20

Beware of false prophets: they come to you in sheep's clothing voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thorn bushes; or figs, from thistles?

A good tree always produces good fruit. A rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit; and a rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruit.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Beware of false prophets." 

Today's Gospel tells of the teaching about the two different trees and their respective fruits. The good trees bear good fruit. The bad trees bear bad fruit. This implies that the things we do are reflective of the things we possess within us. However, we must also take caution of the external appearances since external appearances can be deceiving.

 

Jesus warned his followers to beware of false prophets because they may appear like sheep but in reality, they are voracious wolves. Hence, Jesus summons us to be more discerning so as not to be deceived by those who say one thing but do another thing. Thus, we ourselves are challenged by Jesus to bridge any possible gap existing between the beautiful teachings we already heard and the kind of life we may be leading despite our knowledge of what we were already taught.

 

Lest we ourselves become false prophets or voracious wolves, there must be congruence between what we are professing and the life we are leading. Our faith journey, after being taught by Jesus in his sermon, should now be a journey of congruence between faith and life.