"Jesus said: You will know them by their fruit. Do people get bunches of grapes from thorny weeds, or do they get figs from thistles?"
Gospel of Matthew
What do grapes, thorns, figs and thistles have to teach us about the Kingdom of God? This imagery would have been very familiar to Jesus' audience. A certain thorn bush had berries which resembled grapes. A certain thistle had a flower which at a distance resembled the fig. But the fruit of these plants were not the real thing. And if you tried to eat from these plants, you would be, not only disappointed, but may do yourself harm. The real fig tree, the real grape vine could be determined by their fruit that was harvested from it, fruit that was real, nourishing, and sound.
Jesus uses this analogy when it came to people, particularly those who professed to have some special knowledge or wisdom in respect to faith or faith matters. Is what they say and do real, nourishing, sound? Are they producing good fruit, that which unites, that which leads to spiritual growth and wholeness?
In the Gospel, Jesus is saying that good fruit is the result of sound living.
I've recently read that people of our culture today are more focused on personality than they are on character. Am I good looking; Am I personable or appealing; Do I have a gift or skill that sets me apart from the ordinary; Am I self-assured and confident? These things are great, but what about a person's character. Am I impeccably honest in my dealings with others; Do I know God; Do I derive strength from God; Do I live in accordance with God's truth; Do I show caring and concern for others? Persons of good character see their special talents or skills as gifts given them for the good of others, not something just for their own personal exploitation and gratification.
These are the qualities or fruits from which the Kingdom of God are built, from which communities of faith are born and grow.
Pope Francis recently made the following statements:
"When the Church does not come out of itself to evangelize, it becomes self-referential and then gets sick. That inward-looking Church which doesn't look sufficiently to Christ and doesn't reflect Him, His light and His love for those walking in darkness, quickly succumbs to what is the worst evil of all, a spiritual worldliness, living in itself, of itself, for itself. That is the fundamental corruption of the Church that needs to be reformed.
One of the wild grapes that flows from the vine is a hypercritical spirit that leads some Catholics to expend most of their energy censuring others inside and outside the Church rather than seeking to live and share the joy of the Christian faith. This is a problem not only for clergy but for lay people. One isn't a good Catholic when he or she is looking only for the negative for what separates us. This isn't what Jesus wants. The reform of the laity must involve reforming them to become missionary disciples in communion. It's a community of believers trained and inspired to go out to transform politics, society, education, neighborhoods, family and marriage. It's a body of torch-bearers radiating Christ's light rather than hiding it within the bushel basket of self-referential, spiritually worldly and ultimately sick parochial and diocesan structures."
How do we avoid falsehood in our personal lives? By being true to God, His word, His Grace. Those who are true to God know that their strength lies, not in themselves, but in Him who supplies all that we need. The fruit of a disciple is marked by faith, hope, love, justice, prudence and fortitude.
Do you seek to cultivate the good fruit in your life and reject that which is bad?
No comments:
Post a Comment