Bear Fruit
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March 1, 2019This week’s Gospel reading is all about examining what kind of fruit we are bearing in our lives right now.
Consider your marriage, your family, your friendships. Think also of your workplace, your parish, your community. Most of all, ponder your moral and spiritual life—your relationship with God. What good fruit are you bearing in these areas of your life? Is there any bad fruit that needs to be removed?
Jesus tells us that the true test of a disciple is fruit bearing. Just as every tree is known by its fruit, so every disciple is known by the fruit he or she produces. And that fruit begins to grow in our hearts.
As we invite the Lord into our hearts, he begins the work of transformation within us. He tills the soil, and plants good seeds of faith. Those seeds grow in us as we deepen our relationship with him and grow to bear great fruit in us. And as we will see in today’s reflection, the “fertilizer” for that fruit is all the day-to-day circumstances of our lives: our trials, our difficulties, our opportunities to practice patience, generosity, humility, and forgiveness. These seemingly small, insignificant circumstances we encounter every day are what God wants to use to help us grow and bear good fruit.
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1st Reading Reflection Discussion 2nd Readin Reflection Digging Deeper Gospel Reflection Join us for FORMED Fellowship + Lunch
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(Sunday @ 12:00 noon in the Hall)
1st Reading ReflectionThis brief reading from Sirach illustrates with three images how a man’s heart is known by his speech: The sieve catches useless husks of grain, so does a man’s speech catch his faults. A furnace refines or tests the quality of a potter’s clay, as does conversation test a man. And as the quality of the fruit from a tree shows the care the tree received, so do the words of a man show the care he has given his heart.
If one’s heart is full of love, peace, and joy, the words spoken by that person will communicate those “fruits of the Spirit.” But, if a heart contains anger, bitterness, or hatred, the words of that person will express these negative qualities. The content of our conversation is the judge of our hearts.
2nd Reading Reflection
In this passage, St. Paul says that God has brought the greatest good out of the worst effects of original sin. That is, bodily death is the seed of immortality for those who have allied themselves with God’s saving plan. So we shouldn’t be surprised St. Paul appeals to Old Testament passages that remind Israel of the destruction that sin deserves. In Christ, the destruction that justice demanded for sin has become the very instrument of mercy and life eternal.
Gospel Reflection
There’s an old Latin dictum, operatio sequitur esse, which means that things act according to their nature. Jesus explains just that in this Gospel passage. The blind are those who need to be guided, a student is one who needs a teacher, and good trees bear good fruit. A disciple of Christ has a definite nature too, and our actions are the test of that discipleship.
The nature of discipleship is something that we can come to ignore by familiarity. As disciples, we can become so accustomed to the Gospel message that we forget that the defining trait of the Christian is the willingness to be taught and led by Christ. When we refuse to be taught, we’re blinding ourselves to the very nature of our calling as disciples. That’s what Jesus means by “hypocrite”; he applies it to those who are blind to their own faults and need to be guided. A disciple is one who follows and is taught by Christ, one who will bear good fruit and be fit to teach others.
DISCUSSION:
In this week’s session, the presenter, Jim Beckman, mentions that fruit often comes through the hardships and struggles we encounter in our lives. As we begin our reflection today, think about times in your life when you were facing great difficulties, trials, or hardships.
- When you look back now, do you see ways in which you’ve grown through difficult times?
- What positive “fruit” came out of those challenging moments in your life?
- Look at the verse from the second reading that Jim mentioned in the video, “Be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.”
- What is the “work” you think the Lord desires to do in your heart?
- As we reflect on the readings today, what might be one particular “fruit” that the Lord desires to grow in your own life today?
PRAY & MEDIATE:
PRAYER: Imagine that you and Jesus are standing in today’s Gospel reading under a fruit tree, loaded with ripening fruit. Jesus points to the fruit and says, “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit . . .every tree is known by its fruit.” In prayer, ask Jesus to show you areas where you are not bearing good fruit—perhaps in your friendships or family life or in your moral life. If it’s helpful, you could say the following prayer: “Lord, reveal to me the areas in my life where I am not bearing good fruit, where I am growing thorn bushes, or brambles, or even rotten fruit instead. I want to be the kind of person who sees my weaknesses, so that I can begin to seek your help to improve. Lord, help me see.”
RESOLUTION: In prayer, discuss with Jesus one practical thing you can do this week to reduce the “bad fruit” in your life and increase the “good fruit.”
Reflections reprinted with permission from Opening the Word at Formed.org .
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