GOOD TREES BEARING GOOD FRUITS
Introduction
As the first reading tells us, during restoration works in the Temple, the book of the Old Law is discovered, probably, the core part of the book of Deuteronomy. It is an appeal to live according to the covenant. The discovery came at a time of religious decadence that would lead to the exile. Still it touched off a religious reform and an attempt to live according to the demands of the covenant. Also, we are called to renew in this Eucharist our covenant with the Lord.
Christ is our real tree of life. If we pluck the fruits of his message and life, we too, can become trees of life that produce good fruits. It is not enough for us to take pride in being the People of God and in boasting that we are disciples of Christ. We must also effectively follow him and lead the life of people of the covenant.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the present renewal in the Church
and the changes in the world
have upset many of our certainties,
and at times, we don’t know where we stand.
Give us a great faith and a deep trust,
and the wisdom of your Spirit.
Help us to retain our critical sense,
that we may not run after false prophets
and yet remain open to all true renewal
that brings us closer to you
and helps us to bear good fruit
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1Reading – 2 KINGS 22:8-13; 23:1-3
The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported, “Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple and have consigned them to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD.” The scribe Shaphan also informed the king that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book, and then read it aloud to the king. When the king heard the contents of the book of the law, he tore his garments and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah: “Go, consult the LORD for me, for the people, for all Judah, about the stipulations of this book that has been found, for the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us, because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations.” The king then had all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned together before him. The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great. He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them. Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD that they would follow him and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book. And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.
Responsorial PSALM – 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40
R. (33a) Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them. R.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart. R.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight. R.
Incline my heart to your decrees
and not to gain. R.
Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain:
by your way give me life. R.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life. R.
Alleluia – JOHN 15:4A, 5B
Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – MATTHEW 7:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.”
Commentary
Knowing Tree by Fruit
If a tree is known by its fruits, by what fruits are a true Christian known? Paul has given us a list as the “true fruit” of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (cf. Gal 5:22-23). The list is headed by the fruit “love.” Jesus himself has been very direct in pointing out by what fruit we are to be known: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). Indeed, it is by such love that the Christians were branded in the early Church, as Tertullian affirms in his Apologeticus: “It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another.”
What is the defining fruit by which you are known?
Intentions
– That we may not be afraid when we meet difficulties, but keep always trusting in God who loves us and wants us to be happy, we pray:
– That the Gospel and the life of Christ may be our guide in all the choices we face, we pray:
– That with all our heart and soul, we may love the Lord, who has made with us a covenant uniting us with himself and with one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
in these signs of bread and wine,
signs of communion and sharing,
you let us renew the covenant
made once and for all in the blood of your Son.
All we ask of you Lord is:
let your Son be the living bond
between you and us, between us and people.
Then, it will be easy to respond to your love
and to bear good fruit
in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
through your Son in our midst,
help us rediscover what it means
to be loved by you.
Let our whole lives be a disclosure and deepening
of the riches and the potentials
of our faith, of hope and love,
that we may bear lasting fruits
of goodness and justice,
in response to your love that lasts for ever. Amen!
Blessing
A tree that bears good fruit is a good tree. Let the sap of Jesus’ Gospel and his union with us and our closeness to him flow in us, and we shall bear fruits of justice, mercy and love, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!