A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher

 

 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 plank 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 his 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 yesterday's reading, we continued reading what is called the Sermon on the Plain (begun in this reading):  "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."  My study bible comments that Christ does not judge anyone (John 8:15, 12:47).  So, therefore, St. Cyril of Alexandria writes, "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."

"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 plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye."  This is a very wise teaching about discernment and experience, and also about mutual correction among believers.  Without knowing ourselves and our own flaws, and having had the experience of correction, repentance, and personal change, how can we truly help others?  How can we "see" clearly to correct others.  Hypocrisy prevents us from true insight and giving true assistance, often projecting our own flaws onto others if we are not self-aware.  Self-knowledge, repentance, and change has been the goal of monastic life from Christianity's early beginnings.

"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 his mouth speaks."  Again, this is a call to self-knowledge and transformation within the workings of grace and repentance.  Jesus says that "out of the abundance of the heart" one's "mouth speaks."  This reflects a disciple's true work of faith within the place of the heart.  He asks us for an awareness of our true state, and the ongoing work of discipleship toward this goal of "good treasure of the heart."

"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."  My study bible comments that hearing the gospel alone is not enough.  Salvation is based not on hearing alone, nor on faith alone, but also on doing the things spoken by Christ (see James 2:24). 

Jesus speaks of the process of ongoing repentance, the work of discipleship.  This is clearly a call to self-knowledge, of being aware of one's own flaws, and doing something about it.  The earliest forms of confession were not simply about confessing one's sin, but -- in a certain sense prefiguring psychotherapy -- coming to know oneself.  That is, expressing to a confessor all the things going on in one's life.  Today, possibly particularly in the Orthodox tradition, this remains a part of spiritual discipleship, of having a spiritual elder who helps guide the path of Christian faith.  That person is called an "elder" not because of age necessarily, but precisely because of spiritual experience.  That is, a familiarity with one's own flaws and shortcomings, and what repentance means in practice.  Christ speaks most tellingly of the condition of the heart, and implies clearly that this is something for which we are responsible.  To be sure, we cannot control all the factors in our lives that have contributed to our shortcomings, character flaws, hurts, learned responses, and even damage to the soul.  But discipleship means taking ownership and responsibility for what we do with these things, how we seek out, through our faith, to live our lives and to be consciously aware of the choices we make.  So much so, that it is the depth of the heart that Christ stresses in today's part of the Sermon on the Plain.  Christ asks us to understand that growth in the image of God, in "God-likeness," is what discipleship is all about.  He teaches us that we are, in fact, far more capable of growth, change, and flexibility than we think.  We are not carved in stone at birth, or through our experiences.  But it is the grace and help of the Teacher that helps us to become more "like Him."  This is what our faith teaches us.  Let us remember, when we pray, that ultimately it is the state of the heart that produces what we do in life.  Therefore we take care of the heart, pruning what needs pruning, developing what needs developing, and hopefully growing in the fruits of the Spirit which He asks of us.  

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.

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a 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.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." 

- Matthew 7:13-21

 We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which began with the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5.  Currently we are in chapter 7.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  My study bible reminds us that the description of the two ways was widespread in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:15-18, 12:28, 15:24).  It is also widely found in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  Luke's version of this (Luke 13:24-30) has more of an eschatological tone, referring to the end of the age.   We wrestle against sins and human weaknesses as well as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12), my study bible adds.  Therefore entering the Kingdom is the more difficult way.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a 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.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them."  Here is a call to discernment for Christ's followers, judging good judgment.  And Jesus tells us how to do that:  we will know them by their fruits.  My study bible says that because they can easily deceive others, those who put on a show of virtue or religion can be more dangerous than those who are evil outright.  We must be all the more cautious among those whose emphasis is on an outward show of virtue.  Here Jesus repeats yet another statement of John the Baptist:  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (3:10). 

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Jesus testifies to His own deity here, my study bible points out.  He calls Himself Lord, which is a reference to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testament.   He also speaks of the will of My Father in heaven, which He fully knows and shares.  He refers to Himself as the One who executes true judgment, something only God can do.

We often think of the Sermon on the Mount as a kind of description of the righteousness associated with prescriptions about daily life.  But Jesus includes much more than that.  In today's reading, He gives us clues about Judgment, about a kind of absolute that is a warning to us.  It isn't all positive, it's not always about what we are to do.  Here there are warnings involved, and they are not only about our own conduct but also about watching out for those who'd mislead us and cause harm.  This is all part and parcel of Jesus' care for His followers, and teachings about living this life of the righteousness of the Kingdom.  We're given a very stern warning that this life isn't for everyone, nor is it found everywhere.  We have to be discerning about what and whom we follow.  Moreover, not everyone who shows themselves as a prophet is to be trusted.  We have to see the fruits they produce.  Jesus uses this very vivid image -- those who come to us in sheep's clothing but inwardly are as ravenous as wolves -- to describe those who wish to prey on the sheep who follow Him.  Let's note the deeper tone of warning here:  not everything is as it seems.  We can't trust to appearances and we're not to be persuaded by them.  He doesn't want us to be naive but rational and forewarned sheep, discerning good fruit from bad.  He expects us to know what we are about, what He asks of us, and to recognize which fruit is which.  He repeats the words of John the Baptist, which apply to all of us (but which John also gave in the context of hypocritical leadership):  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."   And then finally, we come to an even deeper note of seriousness and warning:  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."   It's about the final Judgment (and will continue with tomorrow's reading), but these sobering words are meant to teach us about how we live life every day.  We seek to do as He has taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer (or the Our Father):  "Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  That is, the righteousness of the Kingdom is part of our daily life, but is also connected to the absolute.   And it is such a life that opens the door to the Kingdom.  He's speaking of the Judgment, but the whole Sermon is all about the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven, that which we live even in this world, which He'll teach His disciples to tell others is "at hand."  This is the living word of the living Word, the words He gives us to live by each moment in the here and the now.  There is no clear distinction between "end times" and "right now" because, in truth, we live in the "end times."  In Him, all is present.  His words echo John the Baptist, and so does the teaching (also taught by the Baptist) that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  It lives in us and among us because we use our power of cooperation with God's grace to be a part of it.  We ask and seek and knock, we look around at our lives and don't simply follow anyone who comes along just because they look good.  We use our gifts wisely, we expect to live as He has taught us to live -- as rational sheep with the power to discern.  How do you bear His truth in the world, and seek that narrow gate that He proclaims?  He prepares us for a journey that will ask of us all we can give it, every capacity for awareness.  The narrow gate is His way, the way that He teaches throughout the Sermon on the Mount.

Enter by the narrow gate

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a 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.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

- Matthew 7:13-21

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, given in Matthew chs. 5-7.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus taught:   "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  My study bible notes here:  "The description of the two ways was widespread in Judaism (Deut. 30:15-20, Psalm 1 . . .) and in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  Luke's version (Luke 13:24-30) is more eschatological, referring to the end of the age.  Because we wrestle against sins and human weaknesses as well as spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12), entering the Kingdom is the more difficult way."

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."  My study bible tells us:  "Because they can easily deceive others, those who put on a show of virtue or religion are more dangerous than those who are evil outright.  Thus, we must be all the more cautious among those who are outwardly virtuous."

"You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a 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.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them."  The statement, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire," was also made by John the Baptist.  See Matthew 3:10.

Once again in today's reading, as in yesterday's, Jesus is calling us to discernment.  What is this narrow way?  How do we make good choices, and avoid the wide and broad way that leads to destruction, into which so many apparently go?  Jesus warns us, gives us a preview, that this way He is teaching is not only through a narrow gate but it is difficult - and there are few who find it.   So He is giving us warning, telling us to pay attention:  His way is one that requires our attention, our active discernment, our constant effort.  This is not to say we are on our own, but that our true job is our faith and engagement with God (seeking, asking and knocking was the way He characterized it in yesterday's reading).  Above all things, there is our effort to engage with God, to desire that intimate relationship.  This is how we find the way.  This mystical reality requires active engagement on our part, a way of being awake via constantly seeking.  And then, there comes this warning:  to beware of false prophets.  Let us not look in the wrong direction!  Let us remember our own asking, seeking, and knocking and the power that has to find the way, to engage in the reality of God, to seek first this Kingdom -- and the way will be made known to us.  How do we avoid false prophets?  We will know them by their fruits.  Once again, Jesus is calling us not to be sleepwalking through life, but just the opposite:  we are not like the blind leading the blind -- we are called to wisdom, to understanding, and especially to alertness while we seek His way and engage in all the practices included in the metaphor of asking, seeking, and knocking -- of seeking first the Kingdom.  We would do well to remember that, as He sends out His apostles on their first mission, He says they must be "wise as serpents and gentle as doves."   This is the discernment, awareness, and active intelligence, alertness, that He asks of His servants and followers.  And finally, there is this warning:  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  It's a reminder, begun in yesterday's reading at the beginning of chapter 7, that there is one Judge, and He is in our presence.  He's not just teaching, but He is also the place of real Judgment, a place we can't know of ourselves, someone we can't fool, who knows everything about us.  It's a reinforcement of discernment and alertness, reminding us to "keep it real" all the time, not to fool ourselves or be fooled by others -- to seek Him and His Kingdom first.