Hey, That Apple Tree Has Pears On IT! Dont judge me! With that, the argument was suppose to be over. After all, my interlocutor had used the nuclear bomb of debate. He had pulled out the Judge Not card. And, after all, since he was debating a Christian, that meant the discussion was over and he had effectively shut down the uncomfortable reality that he was losing badly! Unfortunately, for him, I have studied my grip, and I find Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro! (its a movie reference, so sue me!). The discussion went on and ended with Lets agree to disagree to which I responded, No. You see the old slander that disagreement equals a judgement is a lazy interpretation of the Lords warning against judging another. It reveals such a vast missing of the point as to uncover the one who uses it as truly unlearned. But it has become such a favorite way to shut down disagreement that it is used as soon as a believer points out the moral dangers in any and all selfish and short sighted choices by another. Forget the effects on family, society, and faithfulness. Forget the unintended consequences of the attitude of Hey, its My truth or I deserve to be happy. Forget that we really are our brothers keeper as followers of Christ and that we who bear the Light are responsible for shining that light even when it uncovers dark places. No, in a society where I have my rights trumps wisdom, pointing out the obvious is considered hate! Lord, have mercy! In our Gospel Lesson today our Lord Jesus sets this in the right context. Look at Luke 6:37-45. We wont quote the whole pericope, so take the time to read the passage. This passage doesnt mean dont notice dangerous behavior. It doesnt mean Dont make me feel bad about my choices! It doesnt mean Never tell the truth because it may hurt my feelings. And it doesnt mean any and all comments that may feel like judgement ARE actually judgment. The key is the last section of the passage! Jesus says For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. The Lord demands that we FIRST deal with our own darkness before we try to help another! The Lord insists we are not really free to help another with a speck in their eye if we have a log in our own eye. But we must be actively engaged in our own life of repentance to be of any use to those around us. If we truly love our neighbors as ourselves, the greatest gift we can give our family, our children, our community, our society, our world, is our own life of repentance! But then the Lord ends the passage with the common sense He always brings to these wonderful insights - A good tree produces good fruit. A bad tree, well, you get it. If I see an apple tree growing pears, I am not free to still call it an apple tree! But I am free to say what is - a tree bearing pears is a pear tree; it isnt an apple tree. But I must FIRST turn that insight on myself BEFORE I am free to help my brother! Today, what kind of fruit is your life producing? Is it the fruit of repentance? Is your life a source of nourishment for the world around you? We will not save our world through the small practices of debate tactics or policies or passing laws. The surest way for us to save our children, our homes, our society is by FIRST inspecting the fruit of our own lives and then lovingly point out the obvious in the lives of others! P.S. THIS SUNDAY its just you and me. And we are going to talk about icons. On this Sundays Faith Encouraged LIVE with Fr. Barnabas I want to hear your icon stories. How do icons help you stay focused on Christ? And youll hear my story how one icon in particular helped me become Orthodox! Thats This Sunday at 8 PM Eastern on AncientFaith! Share and call in!
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 12:00:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015