Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6, 43-49
Jesus said to his disciples:
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?
I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act
is like a person who built a house on the ground
without a foundation.
When the river burst against it,
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”
A tree and its fruit
1. The tree. This has to do with looking at your life and discovering what identifies you. It is not your knowledge or degrees that demonstrate the type of person you are, but rather your attitudes and your gestures, the way you talk to people and treat others. That is how we can get to know people. Your life is marked by situations that lead you to either be hard on people or more understanding towards them. To get to know the real you, it is not enough to see your résumé or your degrees, we simply have to see whether you say “hello” or not.
2. Depth. Where are you standing in your life? The key is to see what you cling to during tough, difficult times. When there is a “tornado” that shakes everything in your life and you can’t stand firm, what do you cling to? You must root your life in silence and prayer. Slow down! Find serenity because when these storms come your way, everything is more bearable if you are safe and protected in your inner self. If you are looking everywhere to find a way out and you do not know who or what to hold on to, a strong wind might blow you down. Do not fall into senseless activism, but rather find yourself, so that the storms in your life might vanish quickly, and you can live in calm and peace again.
3. Sand. This refers to what has no depth. It’s like choosing something without examining it deeply beforehand. One question you ought to ask yourself should be, “What contribution does this situation, or this person make in my life?“ Well, if the answer is “nothing”, like sand that is blown away in the wind, then distance yourself from that situation or those people because otherwise they might cause problems in your life. Pay close attention to the fruit you bear. Let me tell you a fact. Attending mass is important, but that is not the only thing that God considers. Once you leave the church door, your attitudes towards others after mass are the ones that add miles to your trip to Heaven.
Something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
