Word to the Wise
Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - Wednesday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3 and Matt 7:15-20]"By their fruits you shall know them." [Matthew]
After the event of Pentecost the preaching and witness of the apostles and other disciples began to spread, but there was very little "control" of the message and very many interpretations of Jesus' life, death and resurrection began to develop. The New Testament itself is a testimony to different approaches to understanding the gospel. However, some interpretations were not within the broad range. There were "false prophets" who found ways to profit from preaching, and there were well-intentioned "prophets" who were requiring unnecessary things for belief in Jesus. St. Paul speaks of the "Judaizers" who were requiring circumcision and Mosaic observance as part of Christian identity. The Letters of John also speak of false prophets with misleading claims about Jesus. It took a long time before the Church was finally able to sift out the wheat from the chaff!
But, Jesus' image in regard to false prophets has ordinary applications as well. The line, "By their fruits you shall know them!" has entered common parlance and can represent a challenge to all of us. Could any of us call attention to something that we would want others "to know us by?" What would this be? Would it be just one consistent trait over a long period of time? Or would we want to be remembered or known by only one accomplishment in a long or short life? In the Gospel According to John, in the Last Supper discourse, Jesus challenges the disciples to go out and "bear fruit, fruit that will last." [John 15:16]. What could we point to from our lives that could be "lasting fruit?" How would anyone know that we are disciples of Jesus? AMEN