6 - 28 - 17 By Their Fruits and Other Short Reflections

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“by their fruits you will know them.”

A good tree cannot put forth bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot put forth good fruit. It reminds me of something I heard while watching the Netflix show Bojack Horseman. At one point Diane, who is probably the deepest thinking character on the show, is asked by Bojack if she believes he is, deep down, a good person. She responds that she doesn’t think there is a deep down, that she’s come to think that we are what we do.

I think this can sound pretty damning to people who’ve had a run of bad behavior recently but it really should be quite an encouragement. If our interior nature is evidenced by, and caused by, our exterior nature we should have nothing to fear, because we can control our actions. How much more terrifying would it have been if Jesus had said, sometimes good trees have bad fruit, and sometimes a bad tree will give good fruit for a long time, but it will always be a bad tree. I think this passage is one of the most empowering in the Gospel, as it really drives home the fact that God wants to help us achieve the highest measure of our potential, and that positive change is always possible.

Now this is also somewhat of an exhortation, a call to action. If we are to be known by our fruits we cannot rest on our laurels, indeed, none of the laurels that matter (those from God) will be given out until we have come to eternal rest. So we are to never cease producing good fruit if we wish to be good trees in God’s orchard. For just as another parable says, those branches of the vine (that is Christ) which do not produce will be pruned, gathered, and burned.

This section of Matthew is a collection of sayings and therefore can seem a bit choppy and illogical. In this passage Jesus also warns against “wolves in sheep’s clothing” or false prophets. I think we need to bear in mind that the image Jesus creates for us of the nature of the deceivers, of being vicious destroyers and devourers, is completely correct. But in our lack of understanding it can lead to some misconceptions.

These false prophets will often seem to still be quite alright once their sheep’s clothing is removed. They may offer us money, or sex, or power, none of which is, in itself, a bad thing. But just as ravenously as wolves to a fawn the paths of depravity that we can be led down by deceptive tempters will tear us apart. They will teach us to desire good things in the wrong way, and desire bad things that only resemble good things.

They will teach us to desire sex as an end rather than the love of which it is only an expression. They will teach us to desire money as an end, rather than a means to assisting our brothers and sisters. And they will teach us to inflate ourselves with pride as we seek more and more power for its own sake. I don’t think there is a more direct expression of pride than this power-seeking behavior, after all, what is power but being able to command other people. If one believes they should have the right to command other people, they must think themselves better than others.

In the first reading Abram gives a sacrifice to God and receives a vision, telling of the covenant of the nation of Israel. Now we don’t sacrifice animals anymore but I think we can still garner a lesson from this passage.

God may come to us in strange ways, do not be unbelieving. If you truly believe something to be a sign, pray for enlightenment. Do not write off anything that is somewhat “strange” or “unusual” to be your personal fancies, give it some time and thought. Another consideration is what you believe it is telling you, if it seems reasonable, then perhaps give it a chance. Now when I say reasonable here I absolutely don’t mean practical for you in your current state of life. I mean that a proposition seems reasonable in the sense that you could honestly believe God wanted you to do a certain thing.

“Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great.”

I cannot think of a more encouraging thing to hear. In three short lines the Lord tells Abram to drop his worries, because the Lord is on his side and will protect him till he receives his reward. I think we should all remember occasionally that God has this same message for us every day. Every day he asks us to put down our fears and put our trust in him. Every day he promises to protect us in his infinite power and love. And every single day he encourages us with the thought of, and assures of the eventual receipt of, our great, immeasurable reward.