Wednesday 26 June 2024

Today is Wednesday 26 June, in the 12th week of Ordinary Time. The monks of Pluscarden Abbey sing: Ego vos elegi: ‘I have chosen you out of the world, so that you might go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last.’ As you listen to this chant, hear those words addressed to you, because they are addressed to you. God knows all your strengths and all your weaknesses, and has chosen you to bear fruit for him. Ego vos elegi de mundo, ut eatis, Et fructum afferatis: et fructus vester maneat. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 7:15-20 ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Jesus says we’ll know false prophets not by how they look or what they say, but by what they do, by the fruits of their lives. Can you point to false prophets in the world you inhabit? What are the fruits by which you recognise them? In your life, in what you do, what kind of fruit do you bear? Do people have to make a guess about your genuineness, or is it clear from the fruits that you bear? As you listen to the reading again, remember that Jesus was accused of being a false prophet. What kind of fruit did he bear? What feelings does all this give rise to in you? What does it tell you about your own life? And what do you want to bring before the Lord now? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.