Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 12th September, 2020.

 Readings: 1Cor 10:14-22, Ps.116, Luke: 6: 43-49

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHAT KIND OF FRUIT ARE YOU BEARING DEEP DOWN YOUR HEART

 A tree is known to be either good or bad, healthy or sick by the fruit it produces. In the same way the human heart is known to be either good or bad, holy or sinful, sincere or corrupt by the fruit of our words and actions rooted in our character. Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: 

A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them is like the man who when he built his house laid the foundations on a rock. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations.

Here, as Jesus conclude the sermon on the plain, he tells us that hearing and doing the word of God is building our faith on a rocky foundation, that cornerstone, that solid ground, through the fiercest drought and storms of life, because the fruit of the Word of God in us is seen when tested in the storms of life. He also reminds us that it is not enough to hear the word of God; we must put it into practice. That it is not sufficient to speak about God, we must practice what we speak. We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives so that we can bear good and healthy fruit . 

For it is a waste of time and energy if our lives do not reflect the Gospel we preach, if we do not hear the words of Jesus and act on them. Hence, we must embrace the word of God in our lives and let it unite us together so that we can bear good fruits even in our corrupt society. And St. Paul in our first reading tells us that: the Cup of blessing that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. For there is only one loaf, though there are many of us, but we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf which is the life we share in Christ Jesus.

Dear friends, what kind of fruit are we bearing deep down our hearts? How has the word of God changed my life and the lives of those around me? How has the word of God challenged and propelled me to love God and my neighours? Is my attitude towards the word of God like that of the foolish builder who takes short cuts for quick results? Or that of a wise builder who spend time in digging a secured foundations through constant meditation and practice of the word of God? 

Therefore, we must know that whenever we hear the word we must apply it to our daily lives, because that's the only way we can feed our soul and so bear good fruits. This is important because our society today have enough hearers of the word, what we need now is doers of the word, men and women who will feed their lives with the Word of God and from the abundance of their heart live a life that will influence the society positively. Remember, the houses built by the wise and foolish persons may probably look alike. But the difference is the foundations, which can only be revealed when tested by the storms of life.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, through your Word we find life and hope in Christ your Son who is our all in all, grant us the grace to embrace your word in our lives and so bear good and healthy fruits rooted on a rocky foundation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and peaceful weekend.