'Every tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces.’ Luke 6:44
Do you like fruit? What is your favourite fruit? Here's an apple. How many of you like apples? Apples not only taste good, but they are good for you. Maybe you have heard the saying: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” How about bananas? Do you like bananas? There are lots of ways to eat bananas. They are great on cereal at breakfast, aren't they? How about banana pudding? Is there anyone who doesn’t like banana pudding? Have you ever eaten banana bread? Yum, yum! One of my favourite snacks is a banana smoothie. Oh, did I mention that bananas have lots of vitamins? Talking of vitamins… what is one of the best ways to get a lot of vitamin C? The orange, of course! Where do we get all of these delicious fruits? They come from fruit trees, don't they? Apples come from an apple tree. Oranges come from an orange tree. Bananas come from a banana tree.
Which brings us to our Gospel reading today (Luke 6:39-45). Now, I’ve studied the Bible quite a bit and let me tell you there are some difficult passages. Sometimes Jesus and His disciples say some things which are hard to get your head round. Sometimes I have to write long sermons to help people to understand what Jesus and the disciples were talking about. However, today isn’t one of those days because there are also plenty of times when Jesus said things which were really clear and anyone could understand it! Today, I almost needn’t have preached it’s that easy to understand. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus has a lot to say about fruit. He told His followers that they were to bear fruit. Now I don’t think he was talking about apples, oranges, and bananas. So what did Jesus mean when he told His followers to bear fruit for Him? When Jesus says that good people produce good fruit, He doesn’t mean the kind of fruit that we eat. He means that if we are following Him, then we will want to do the things that make God happy. We will do good things, we will help people, we will share what we have with others, and we will treat other people with respect. Jesus said: 'A good tree does not produce bad fruit. And a bad tree does not produce good fruit. Every tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces.’ How do we know, if a tree is a good tree, according to Jesus? How do we know if a banana tree is a good banana tree? It produces bananas! A banana tree which didn’t produce any bananas would be a bad tree, right! How about if I said to you that I was the best juggler in the world… how would you know if it was true? I would be able to juggle really well! And Jesus says it’s the same with us; want to know if you’re really following Jesus? Want to know if you’re living a good Christian life… well, look at your life. Is there good fruit or bad fruit there? Are you good at being mean or are you good at being kind? Do you trust yourself to get you through life, or do you trust God, praying to Him and asking for Him to guide you? Are you good at being thankful, or do you find yourself grumbling a lot? Are you good at taking care of others or do you seem to hurt other people?
In today’s Gospel reading—and you know what it’s the same today—people very easily start criticising others. But Jesus says ‘No, start by looking at our own lives, sorting ourselves out—with God’s help—before we criticise others. Listen: ‘Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your friend’s eye, but you don’t see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? […] First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to get the dust out of your friend’s eye’ (Luke 6:41-42). We are great at saying ‘You’re not very good at this, you make mistakes at that, you don’t produce much fruit’. But how about ourselves? Let’s look at our own lives, let’s look at the fruit we produce or not, and let’s get our lives in order before we criticise others. So, friends, what kind of fruit tree do you want to be? A good tree producing good fruit, or a bad tree producing bad fruit? Let’s take a good look at our own lives. Lent, which starts on Wednesday, is a great time to take stock and then to ask God to help us to work on what we need to fix and so make sure we’re producing good fruit.
Let’s pray:
Father, we want to be a good tree,
producing good fruit.
Help us to do the things we know will be pleasing to you.
In the name of Jesus we pray.
Amen. (from Fr Mike).