Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus tells us, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit . . . So by their fruits you will know them.” When we look at a tree growing in the woods, a park, or a field, we don’t always immediately recognize its species. My husband has an App on his phone that identifies plants, shrubs, and trees. He gets a real kick out of using it to help him gain the ability to more readily recognize plant species. But any of us can look at a tree and immediately determine whether it is diseased, dying, rotting, or decaying. Conversely, it’s easy to pick out a tree that is particularly vibrant – laden with fruit or nuts with healthy foliage and sturdy trunk. Just as our eyes can distinguish a good tree from a rotten tree, Jesus reminds us that it is by our fruits that we demonstrate to the world what kind of tree we are: morally and spiritually vibrant or the opposite. Let us ask God for the graces we need today to be spiritually healthy and maturing disciples and that the fruit we produce gives glory to God and leads others to him.
Jesus does not offer concrete examples of what constitutes good and bad fruit. He gives a clue in Matthew 3:10 that good fruit symbolizes repentance, and the good that flows from a loving heart (Matt. 12:33-34). I think it’s safe to conclude that a Christ follower produces good fruit in their speech and conduct when they seek to fulfill the Gospel and follow faithfully in Christ’s footsteps. We glorify God by our lives when we offer ourselves as oblations to the Father and allow the grace of God to be manifest in us. This self-offering is most powerfully evident when we yield and surrender to Eucharistic grace, giving God permission to transform us by his sacrificial love. The more we submit to the work of Eucharistic grace within us, the more Christ-like we become and the more evident is the fruit of this divine activity. Ultimately, good fruit is simply Christ at work within us and the light of Christ shining for all to see. When we allow Jesus to do his work in and through us, the evident fruit is actually his fruit – it’s like Jesus himself manifests the fruit. It’s all by God’s grace! Even our good fruit is not ours, it’s not something we can own or take credit for – it’s the fruit of Christlikeness which is pure gift. When you see me, I pray that you see Jesus and his fruit (or at least I pray it becomes a little bit more evident day by day). Perhaps you’ll want to offer a similar petition for yourself today.
I believe the production of good fruit begins in each of our hearts. Ultimately the state of our heart dictates much of the fruit we bear in our thoughts, speech, and actions. When scripture speaks of the human heart, it most often refers to the “hidden center of the person where thoughts, emotions, and actions originate. Faculties we commonly associate with the mind and will are associated with the heart in biblical teaching” (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Gospel of Matthew, pg. 196). The more that we can bow our intellect, will, imagination, and emotions to the will of the Father, the more we avail ourselves not only to the transforming power of his love, but also to his healing. So often it’s our wounded hearts that function as barriers to growth in holiness and emotional maturity. The wounded or wayward heart is the one that tends to bear rotten fruit. “. . . the word of the Gospel is sown in the heart (13:19). With God’s help, the heart can be purified (5:8) to love the Lord as scripture commands us (22:37) and to forgive those who offend us (18:35). Jesus, who is meek and humble in heart, shows us this wonderful potential of the human heart in the new economy of grace (11:29)” (ibid).
As you reflect on the current state of your own heart, what might be preventing you from surrendering more fully to God, to bearing good fruit, fruit that displays the love of God and points to Christ and his Kingdom? What might be hindering you from submitting more fully to Jesus and allowing him to manifest his grace and his fruit through you? Let us each consider our hearts today and ask the Lord for whatever we need most, whether it be healing, forgiveness, particular graces, or the help of his presence. And may we each grow into strong, vibrant trees, “rooted and established in love” (Ephesians 3:17), bearing plentiful fruit that attracts others to God and helps and inspires them to become lively fruit-bearers.
I’ll see you in the Eucharist, Elizabeth Wells