Wednesday 23 June 2021

Today is Wednesday the 23 June, in the Twelfth week of Ordinary Time.  

Salt of the Sound sing, ‘It Is Well With My Soul’.  

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew.  

Matthew 7:15-20  

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?  In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus you will know them by their fruits.”

Jesus says we’ll know false prophets not by how they look or what they say, but by what they do, by the fruits of their lives.  Can I point to false prophets in the world I inhabit?  What are the fruits by which I recognise them?  

In my life, in what I do, what kind of fruit do I bear?  Do people have to make a guess about my genuineness, or is it clear from the fruits that I bear?  

As you listen to the reading again, remember that Jesus was accused of being a false prophet. What kind of fruit did he bear?  

What feelings does all this give rise to in me?  What does it tell me about my own life?  And what do I want to bring before the Lord now?  

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.