Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.”   

In the movie "Seven Pounds," Ben Thomas was a guilt-driven man. His choice to commit suicide by giving of his vital organs to others was ill-founded and he obviously should have chosen to help others in another way. But the way he chose the people to whom he wished to donate his organs is something to consider. He chose the people by studying their lives. If their lives were good, then he felt that they deserved what he could give them; if their lives were fake, then he felt that they deserved nothing. At one time in the movie, one of the people that he donated to asks him, "Why me?" Ben's answer is one that can be studied and learned from: "Because you are a good man, even when you don't know that people are watching you." Our Christian calling is to be good all the time. Ben should have listened to his own words, to be sure, and so should we.    

Jesus' story of the fruit of good and rotten trees can lead to profitable meditation. A good tree will give good fruit; a rotten tree will not. A good tree cannot not give good fruit. Translated into spiritual terms, for a person to be good, he must be good all the time--the tree will always bear good fruit. A rotten tree may look like a good tree, but it will be discovered eventually because of its fruit--it will not bear good fruit. Going beyond Jesus' image, however, a rotten tree can change and begin bearing good fruit, and unfortunately a good tree can cease being good. The important thought is that we can all achieve basic holiness, that is, we can all be good trees that bear good fruit if we choose. 

Ben Thomas knew what Jesus' story meant, but his pain was so intense that he could not follow it himself. He presents to us a concept called "selective holiness." Basically, we all want to be decent human beings, but there are some areas where we allow for exceptions. Ben, a good and decent person, refused to take the time to understand his pain and do something about it. Likewise we, although inclined to be good, will select some areas where we refuse to be good--how we treat the person that we simply do not like, the person who has insulted our family, or the person who is obnoxious and mean. "Selective holiness" allows us to be holy when it is convenient to be holy--for example, for other people to see, or when it agrees with what we want. 

The essence of being a follower of Jesus Christ, however, is that we are called to be holy all the time. In terms of Jesus’ image, everyone of us has the obligation to become a "good tree" when convenient and inconvenient. Such a "good tree" will bear good fruit. That is, as we place this thought into a personal context, basic goodness will be evident in our actions. We will work at accomplishing the good things of life. We will be open to others, we will want to care for them, we will be careful about the words that we say about and to others, we will establish an attitude about us that will make people understand that God is really at work in people. Simply put, we will strive to be holy all the time.                  

THOUGHT
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you call us to be people who bear good fruit, that is, people who show that we are believers in you by the actions that we perform in every circumstance. Help us learn to be people who are truly holy. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America