Beware

2 kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3; Ps 119 Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.  Mt 7:15-20

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.  By their fruits you will know them...just so good trees bear good fruit and a rotten tree bears bad fruit..."


Beware!

This the opening salvo of today's gospel.

We have been following Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount over the past few days or even week.  Jesus climbs the mountain sits down and opens his mouth and we have been hearing what his north has been saying for 2000 years as we receive it from the gospel of Matthew.


We have come to the end of the sermon.   Jesus is wrapping up his sermon and he is coming in for landing as he prepares to climb down the mountain and head toward Calvary.

The last thing the disciples hear is an invitation to "beware."

He wants them to be on guard.  Not everything is as it seems.

That which feels good or seems right isn't always right or good.  Jesus invites us to dig a little deeper.  Jesus invites us to never settle for the surface or appearance of things.  He wants us to be skeptical enough to get to the bottom of things.

 JEsus wants us to keep things real.

By their fruits yo shall know them?

This isn't just for getting to know or trust people but this also is about getting to know and trust ideas and even doctrines.  By their fruit you shall know them.

For instance let's take the secular doctrine of abortion on demand.  By their fruits you shall know them.

What fruit has come from abortion on demand?
1)death of a child
2)trauma to the one who experiences the abortion
3)increase number of abortions because babies are consider an inconvenience
4)a great objectification of women
5)sex without love or responsibility
6)billion dollar industry that thrives off the vulnerable and hurt and the shame of so many
7)fertility is now looked upon as a disease and a problem rather than a life giving blessing
8)right of privacy has replaced the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit f happiness

Just to name a few.  A rotten tree bears bad fruit. Yet, the wolves have clothed themselves in sheep clothing and have been marching under the
banner of reproductive health.  What a farce!


Here is the problem as i see it.  In order to discover the wolf in sheep clothing, one must ask the hard questions and poke around a bit.  But we here in the US especially are way to complacent for that.

We don't want the hard answers we want to easy way; we rather ignore the facts and continue to live in "wonderland."