Gospel: Lk 6:43-49
No healthy tree bears bad fruit, no poor tree bears good fruit. And each tree is known
by the fruit it bears: you don’t gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles. Similarly
the good person draws good things from the good stored in the heart, and an evil person
draws evil things from the evil stored in the heart. For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart.
Why do you call me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ and not do what I say? I will show you what the one who
comes to me and listens to my words and acts accordingly, is like. That one is like the builder
who dug deep and laid the foundations of his house on rock. The river overflowed and
the stream dashed against the house, but could not carry it off because the house had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act, is like a man who built his house on the ground
without a foundation. The flood burst against it, and the house fell at once: and what a
terrible disaster that was!”
Reflection:
Thoughts generate words, and words generate
action. So what we have deep in our center of being
is manifested to the physical world by our words and actions.
They could disclose what we have inside us, or what we lack
because words sometimes supply what is lacking in reality.
That is why Jesus tells us that it is impossible for a healthy
tree to produce bad fruit and vice versa. A good person
can pretend to be bad, and a bad person can pretend to be
good. But they cannot remain consistent in their action all the
time. Sooner or later, the truth will come out. For even if we
can manipulate our words and actions, still the body will not
lie. And so, to bear good fruit, we need first to listen to God’s
word. Just as Mary produced the best human there is
possible, our Lord Jesus Christ, when she listened and believed
in God’s word, so shall we produce abundant goodness
in our lives by imitating her docility to God’s word. We build
ourselves a strong foundation for our actions. It can withstand
the scrutiny of time. We can rest secure in our achievements
that started with God.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021
