From: Luke 6:43-49
Integrity (Continuation)
[46] “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? [47] Every one
who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he
is like: [48] he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foun-
dation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house,
and could not shake it, because it had been well built. [49] But he who hears and
does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a founda-
tion; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that
house was great.”
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
43-44. To distinguish the good tree from the bad tree we need to look at the fruit
the tree produces (deeds) and not at its foliage (words). “For there is no lack of
people here on earth who, on being approached, turn out to be nothing but large,
shiny, glossy leaves. Foliage, just foliage and nothing more. Meanwhile, many
souls are looking at us hoping to satisfy their hunger, which is a hunger for God.
We must not forget that we have all the resources we need. We have sufficient
doctrine and the grace of God, in spite of our wretchedness” (St. J. Escriva,
“Friends of God”, 51).
45. Jesus is giving us two similes—that of the tree which, if it is not good, pro-
duces good fruit, and that of the man, who speaks of those things he has in his
heart. “The treasure of the heart is the same as the root of the tree,” St Bede
explains. “A person who has a treasure of patience and of perfect charity in his
heart yields excellent fruit; he loves his neighbor and has all the other qualities
Jesus teaches; he loves his enemies, does good to him who hates him, bles-
ses him who curses him, prays for him who calumniates him, does not react
against him who attacks him or robs him; he gives to those who ask, does not
claim what they have stolen from him, wishes not to judge and does not con-
demn, corrects patiently and affectionately those who err. But the person who
has in his heart the treasure of evil does exactly the opposite: he hates his
friends, speaks evil of him who loves him and does all the other things con-
demned by the Lord” (”In Lucae Evangelium Expositio”, II, 6).
46. Jesus asks us to act in a way consistent with being Christians and not to
make any separation between the faith we profess and the way we live: “What
matters is not whether or not we wear a religious habit; it is whether we try to
practice the virtues and surrender our will to God and order our lives as His Ma-
jesty ordains, and not want to do our will but his” (St Teresa of Avila, “Interior
Castle”, II, 6).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
| First reading |
|---|
| 1 Timothy 1:15-17 © |
| Psalm | Psalm 112:1-7 © |
|---|
| Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
|---|
| Or | Jn14:23 |
|---|
| Gospel | Luke 6:43-49 © |
|---|