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| Mr Apple, Norman Rockwell, 1970 |
Thought for the day given at a lunchtime service of Holy Communion (BCP) at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Wednesday 26th June 2024, based on the text of Matthew 7.15-20
In the constituency where I live, there are more candidates standing in this general election than ever before. This may well be the result of living in a particularly public spirited community. The cynic in me thinks it may also have something to do with the high profile of the incumbent - who this time around happens to be the current Leader of the Opposition. Anyone standing against him will almost certainly have their five minutes of fame when the result of the count is declared, broadcast and replayed on TV.
Whatever the reason, the consequence is that over the past four weeks I have had several leaflets through my door, publicising the various candidates on the ballot.
How to go about choosing the best one?
Well, the literature encourages us to make a decision based on their track record. For incumbents, their track record as an MP. The causes they have championed, the positive effect they have had on the lives of their constituents. The challengers will often cite achievements in their working lives and the charitable causes they support and attack the track record of the incumbent as not being good enough, or not as significant as they claim.
In a parable, Jesus tells us that we can discern good prophets from bad “by their fruits”. But he is talking about something much deeper than their track record - what they have said or done. These fruits are something intrinsic to their nature.
“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” Jesus explains.
Elsewhere in the bible, St Paul lists some of these “fruits of the spirit.” Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the fruits on which Jesus says prophets will ultimately be judged, at the final count.
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
What if we review our lives in the same way? Not simply looking at our track record - what we have achieved this morning, this week, this month - but how we have achieved it. Is the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that we have received through the Holy Spirit manifest in our communication with, in our relationship with others? In what we have said or written, in our body language?
On balance, are our lives reflecting the one true prophet, our great shepherd - or being consumed by a ravenous false one?
The good news for those of us who find our branches bearing less than premium fare is that we have been given the possibility of rebalancing our lives. We are called to the Lord’s table to fill our mouths and bodies with the sweetest fruit on earth. And to pray that we may open our hearts and minds to its work within us.
So that we may all become more fruity.
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