Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
26th June 2024 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Kings 22:8-13, 23:1-3
In those days: Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
Psalm 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40 (R. 33a)
R/. Lord, teach me the way of your statutes.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Abide in me, and I in you, says the Lord; he who abides in me bears much fruit.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 7:15-20
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thornbushes? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Wednesday – Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: Mere external appearances cannot prove the real quality of something or someone. They can be clever devices and deceptive disguises. Only authentic actions matter
1. There is a rampant “mask” culture. The real character often is under pretensions and disguises. Many go about with a lot of duplicities, giving an appearance and colouring of being good and holy. But in truth, they are only hiding their bad nature under a good cover. This is what Jesus calls, “wolves in sheep’s clothing”.
2. Quite true to Jesus’ warning, there are many false prophets all around us who wear sheep’s clothing but are inwardly ravenous wolves. These project themselves as meek, humble, and pure like sheep. They appear to be harmless. But inside they are full of aggressiveness, and destructive nature.
3. They wait for every little chance to pounce on others and harm them grievously. But how do we find them out? Is there any criterion, any test to uncover their real colour? It is by looking at their fruits.
4. As Jesus cautions, these are the bad or diseased trees. They pretend to bear good fruit. But they bear only bad fruit. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit. These are the thorn bushes and they cannot produce grapes or figs. Their end will only be destruction, just as every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
5. The falsity, deceptiveness, and failure of the test of the authenticity of these false prophets should serve as a caution, warning, and challenge for all of us not to fall into the same trap. Instead of bad or diseased trees, we must be good trees that bear good fruits. We must not be wolves in sheep’s clothing. Rather we must be sheep in sheep’s clothing.
6. For this, like the king of Judah and all his people in the first reading, we must constantly rediscover and renew our covenant with the Lord. We must resolve to “walk after the Lord, to keep his commandments, his testimonies and his statutes with all our heart and all our soul”.
Practice: Claiming to be good and healthy trees but bearing bad fruits is a contradiction. Let us try to be good trees not only in appearance but in truth by bearing good fruits
