But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do the things which I say?

 "And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the lank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."

- Luke 6:39-49

In our current readings, Jesus has been preaching the Sermon on the Plain, which began with Friday's reading.  On Saturday we read that Jesus taught:  "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.  But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.  Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

 "And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the lank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye."  Jesus builds on His teaching about mercy.  Here, He calls His disciples to be like Him.  My study bible comments that Christ does not judge anyone (John 8:15; 12:47).  Therefore, as Cyril of Alexandria comments, "if the Teacher does not judge, neither must the disciple, for the disciple is guilty of worse sins than those for which he judges others."  Let us note that in speaking to His disciples, He is preparing those who will be leaders and teachers in His Church.  Thereby, they must rigorously practice His sayings, otherwise, as teachers themselves, they will be the blind who lead the blind.  If we are not aware of where we ourselves come up short regarding these teachings by Jesus, then we cannot possibly help others with their own shortcomings. 

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."   This is a call to self-awareness and to ascetic practice, an active working at what is within us -- and to discard that which cannot comply with His teachings on mercy (see yesterday's reading, above).  We are to make the tree good by choosing what our treasure is, and discarding the tendencies contrary to what is good.  This teaching about good trees and bad is found in several places in the New Testament; but here Christ calls His apostles to true self-awareness and active decision to follow the discipleship of His commandments.  Jesus calls us to rigorous discipline:  His mercy is not about condoning sinful, abusive behavior.  Discipleship is a rigorous practice which begins with one's inner life.  Both Origen and Bede comment on this passage by referring to St. Paul, and his explanation of good and bad "fruits."  Origen comments that the "good tree" is the Holy Spirit, and the bad the devil and his underlings.  The bad fruits are found at Galatians 5:19-21, which is followed by the good:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?"  Bede adds a comment here to say that to call upon the Lord seems to be the gift of a good treasure, the fruits of a good tree.  "For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13).   But to fail to follow what is spoken is to expose not a good treasure of the heart, but a false one. 

"Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."  Jesus gives us a warning about the necessity of not merely calling upon the Lord, but following through with fruits -- what we do must reflect the a heart that has taken in His teachings.  This is the firm foundation in life, built by Christ for us to withstand all assaults.  Without following through by our cooperation with grace, choosing as we're guided, we haven't the solid foundation nor home He offers.

How can we call upon the Lord, and yet fail to follow through with choices that reflect His commands?  It seems to then that we don't really "treasure" what it is we receive in response.  Jesus' sermon clearly targets His disciples, those to whom He lifted up His eyes as He began to preach this sermon (see Friday's reading).  So how seriously do we take discipleship?  Let us note Jesus' main teachings here throughout this Sermon on the Plain are all about the practice of mercy and lack of judgment.   The central teaching relies on our dependence upon God the Father, and the gifts of grace and mercy we receive and are to share with others.  In today's reading, He speaks of the good treasure of the heart, the good tree that gives good fruit.  How much do we really treasure what we receive from Him?  How do we value that which we receive when we call upon His name?  A solid house with a solid foundation is a description of that which results when we truly treasure His gifts, and follow through in faith with what we're taught.  We build up a discipline, based on the solid foundation of rock, a house built through His commands.  Jesus illustrates the importance of such a house with such a firm foundation by suggesting what happens when floods and storms come.  All around us we are constantly presented with temptations to join into the passions that others seek to deliberately manipulate in us.  Our use of social media can result in all kinds of persuasions and influences for us to lose ourselves in emotion, in following a crowd of one opinion or another, in calling for vengeance and retribution, facile judgment not based on cool or sober decisions.  What we read in the words of Jesus today is precisely against following such crowds.  They are the storms that beat down and cause the floods that might sweep us away.  But He wants us to learn how to remain firmly upon His rock, within His teachings, and not be swept away by such temptations.  In this is the practice of virtue most important, because it ingrains and gives us practice with habits -- with the things we will then treasure in the heart -- for when those times come.  Without this follow-through, we don't build the home He gives us guidance, instruction, and the solid foundation for.  All around us we seem to find public figures who celebrate being swept away by passion, by anger, by outrage, by fear.  None of this is in accordance with what Christ teaches us about good judgment, self-awareness, the practice of mercy and grace as given to us by God.  As His disciples, we are to remain just that:  firmly in His discipline, remembering His teachings, practicing the dispassion and discipline He asks of us.  Ascetic practice prizes detachment, dispassion, learning to reach for that good treasure of the heart, rather than today's frenzy of the crowd.  Are we capable of being that person, that disciple?  It takes practice, but this is precisely where mercy and good judgment are, the center of the heart shored up with good treasure, built up by our actions and follow-through in support of His word.  This is the dwelling-place of grace.