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.

Reflect

“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 fruits. The bad trees bear bad
fruits. 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.

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