• "Jesus Provides Examples of Judgment"
• Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity
• August 1, 2004
• The Reverend David A. Brounstein

Our gospel lesson this morning is from the second half of Matthew 7. It is the conclusion of Jesus' teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount. The metaphors utilized by Jesus in our passage include references to sheep, wolves, trees and fruit: word pictures that were quite understandable to his immediate agrarian audience.

The first half of Chapter 7 begins with the famously misused passage, "Judge not, that ye be not judged," a favorite quote of those seeking to divorce consequences from actions. Some would prefer having Christians leaving their brains at the door rather than comparing situations, personal choice, or lifestyles with Biblical moral principles. Jesus spends a considerable amount of time unpacking this teaching and putting it into a usable context.

Jesus called his followers to exercise discernment, that is to say, judgment, and he provides several examples. His first warning is against false prophets that come to you in sheep's clothing. These false prophets are analogous to false shepherds. They blend in with the sheep with the right clothing and the proper outward appearance. Judgment is necessary to discern their true nature.

The psalmist, the Old Testament prophets, and Jesus himself, refer to the true followers of God as members of his flock. In the 10th chapter of St. John's gospel, Jesus teaches that the wolf comes to catch and scatter the sheep. A true prophet is to emulate the characteristics of the good shepherd-the one who laid down his life for the sheep-the one whose voice the sheep recognize and follow. Jesus mixes his metaphor a bit here and directs us to judge by conducting an examination of the fruit of the false prophet, the results of his actions.

One might have expected Jesus to look at the faith of the false prophet instead of his fruits, but that is not what our text says. Jesus is articulating the Jewish understanding of humanity. This worldview sees an inseparable unity that links thoughts with actions. It is a very holistic and sacramental perspective. Simply put, Jesus is teaching that the fruit in our lives is the outward and visible sign of who we really are on the inside.

Jesus rhetorically asks farmers if they gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles. Each of these farmers knows the difference. Grapes and figs represent nutrition and life. Thorns and thistles represent hunger and death.

Jesus develops his analogy in the relationship between trees and fruit. Good trees bring forth good fruit and evil trees bring forth evil fruit. Good trees cannot bring forth evil fruit and evil trees cannot bring forth good fruit. Greek philosophy would separate mind, body, and spirit into distinct and independent parts of a person. One cannot confess Jesus with one's mouth and concurrently live a life that bears no relationship to that reality. That would be like a politician who votes for abortion but claims to be personally opposed to it.

So how are we to be discerning 21st century fruit inspectors? By tending to our own garden before managing the one belonging to our neighbor. An honest examination of our own lives reveals the extensive project that lies before us. I have noticed that in my own life, not all of my fruit turns out exactly as I would have intended. Some areas need clearing, some weeding, others irrigation. It also requires much prayer for anything decent to come forth from the effort.

As Anglicans, our life of prayer is rooted in the Daily Offices. I find the General Confession extremely useful at the conclusion of each day. It is an opportunity to pause and reflect upon the day as a snapshot in time - before days, weeks, months, and years race by as an indistinguishable blur. A time to ask, "What things have I done that I should have known better? What things did I avoid doing that I should have done? But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon me." This daily examination of conscience and the repentance it engenders is part of the pruning and nurturing process that brings forth good fruit.

But we do not bring forth good fruit of ourselves. In the 15th Chapter of St. John's gospel, Jesus describes the nature of the good tree that brings forth good fruit. He describes himself as the true vine and we as the branches that are to bear fruit. Our strength and sustenance come from the vine called Jesus. We are purged and pruned to be more fruitful, fruit that reflects the good and true nature of the vine to which we have been grafted. We are called to abide in him; that is to say, to remain connected in a vital and living relationship. It is only in this manner that we can bear fruit at all. We must remain connected to the vine in times of both vigorous growth and agonizing dormancy. Most importantly, Jesus reminds us that apart from him, we can do nothing.

"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."