1 Tim 1:15-17
Beloved:
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5 and 6-7
R (2) Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R./ Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R./ Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
R./ Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Lk 6:43-49
Jesus said to the crowd, "No healthy tree bears bad fruit, no poor tree bears good fruit. And each tree is known by the fruit it bears: you don't gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles. Similarly the good person draws good things from the good stored in the heart, and an evil person draws evil things from the evil stored in the heart. For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart.
Why do you call me: 'Lord! Lord!' and not do what I say? I will show you what the one who comes to me and listens to my words and acts accordingly, is like. That one is like the builder who dug deep and laid the foundations of his house on rock. The river overflowed and the stream dashed against the house, but could not carry it off because the house had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act, is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. The flood burst against it, and the house fell at once: and what a terrible disaster that was!"
Today’s Gospel text can really boost our self-esteem. And it can even lead us to judge and condemn our brothers and sisters. That phrase “by their fruits you will know them,” which has become the ordinary way of expressing the central idea of these words of Jesus, has too often been used to condemn others. We see the fruit and convince ourselves that if the fruit is bad, then the roots must be bad too. There is nothing more to be done. No point in wasting time or effort. That tree—that person—has no remedy.
But neither Jesus nor the Kingdom work that way. For God the Father, no child is definitively lost. And who are we to determine that the roots are damaged forever?
Maybe we think we are already in a position of superiority, ready to judge and measure others because we have built our house—our faith, our life, our convictions—on solid rock, and no matter what winds or floods come, our house will stand firm. But the truth is, water always finds a crack, and even in the best-built houses dampness appears over the years. And that without needing any great floods or storms. The reality is that our house, our faith—like every house—needs ongoing maintenance.
Today’s Gospel text invites us to come down from our pedestal, not to think of ourselves as superheroes of the faith. This passage is like a bath of humility. We are on the way, together with our brothers and sisters. We are building the house of our life, and if we look back at our own history, we can see that what we have built is far from perfect. We are going to need much mercy and patience from God to gradually improve what we are building. And there’s nothing more to say: let’s apply that same mercy and patience to our brothers and sisters—just as God does with us.
Fernando Torres, cmf
