Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

- Matthew 12:33-42

In yesterday's reading, we read about Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees. After many healings, and the casting out of a demon that resulted in the healing of a blind and mute man, Jesus is accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons, Beelzebub. Jesus countered that this was not possible -- Satan cannot cast out Satan without destroying his own kingdom. He said, "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?" Instead, a stronger man must first bind the ruler of a house, and then take his possessions. And if Jesus' work is done by the power of the Spirit, then what of the judgment of the Pharisees? All things said against the Son of Man may be forgiven, but not against the work of the Spirit. "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit." This is one of many references to trees as a metaphor for people and their works. We have heard these words earlier from Jesus. John the Baptist preached similarly when he spoke of the need for repentance because of the coming of the Kingdom and the Messiah. Jesus has repeatedly preached about casting out the things from within ourselves that may poison the whole, about where our hearts rest, the importance of our choices.

"Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things." We must take care of the things of the heart. Life is not about an exterior appearance of piety. Whatever is within, so it will be without -- so will be the fruits we produce, and "what the mouth speaks." My study bible has a note on the heart: "The heart in Scripture refers to the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, the source from which the whole spiritual life proceeds. When grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts. When malice and evil capture the heart, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion."

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Here, Jesus gives us an even greater emphasis on the words we say. He has already emphasized this in the Beatitudes, in His teaching and expansion on the statute of murder. His emphasis on the things we say is unmistakable, and on their profound impact on our own futures, our very state of being.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." This seems to be a reaction to Jesus' authoritative words. Their recourse is to demand a sign, when there have already been many important signs. This is another way of criticizing, of finding fault -- and worse, it comes from malice. Their hearts cannot perceive what Jesus is about, and they turn their backs on the things they already know from Scripture.

But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Here Jesus begins what will be His emphasis in response to demands for a sign: the real sign will come in His Passion, death, and Resurrection. They can't understand precisely what He is speaking about. But they do understand the references to Jonah. He will not perform signs on demand, because the impulse in their asking is not sincere in the first place. To be "evil and adulterous" is to be untrue to their own spiritual heritage, to the work of the Spirit throughout the whole history of Israel, the people of God, and to the Scriptures in which they are to have expertise, to God who has set Israel apart through Covenant.

"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here." Jesus cites examples from the Old Testament with which they are familiar. This is the very life of the spiritual reality of Israel, that which makes Israel God's people. Ninevah repented when Jonah preached -- and a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South came to Solomon to hear his wisdom -- and a greater than Solomon is here. Therefore in the Judgment, when all things come together in God, they will be compared to those of old of whom they know, and found wanting.

In today's reading, we must come to understand what it is to be "evil and adulterous" in the context of what Jesus is saying. The whole history of Israel reminds us again and again what it is to be "chosen" -- to be the people in covenant to God. Repeatedly throughout its history is the familiar reminder of the prophets who are sent to call people back to this covenant, to the ways of God. Here, Jesus presents images of the faithful in their history to the Pharisees. Jonah (from a city near Nazareth) was told to go to Ninevah to preach against it, and at first himself ran from the word of the Lord. The Queen of the South came from far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But the Pharisees, experts in their own tradition, upholders of its values, have failed where these examples of the past succeeded. We, too, hold a treasure in our hands. We are given a tremendous gift, as were the Pharisees. And we, too, must take our heritage seriously. The work of the Spirit is ever at work with us and among us, and we, too, are called to be present to it. We can't be like the Pharisees in this reading, who call upon their heritage and yet have no love and "hearing" in their hearts for the work of the Spirit. It is the Spirit, the work of the divine, that has been the thread of the whole history of Israel -- and so it is for us. This work, these Gospels, have come to us today bearing 2,000 years of history from the time Jesus' words were spoken. How then, shall we be unlike the Pharisees, willing to see and hear where the Spirit calls us, not proud merely in our inheritance, our name, our places? Let us consider the active and alive nature of Spirit, how it calls us, how the Israelites were forever called back to Covenant. Where does our Covenant lead us today? How is it calling you to cast out the things that get in the way of a pure heart, capable of producing the fruits of the spiritual life? We note the cynicism and malice of the Pharisees, the unjust criticism, the easy nay-saying and excuses. Let us remember what it is to bear good fruits, to seek with an honest heart, to come to God as a child. Let us remember His rejoicing at the wisdom revealed to babes. Let us also remember His earlier warning about false prophets, echoed in His words we read today.