Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 7: 15-20
June 28, 2023 | Wednesday

Today’s Gospel

Beware of false prophets: they come to you in sheep’s clothing; but inside, they are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thorn bushes; or figs, from thistles?

A good tree always produces good fruit. A rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit; and a rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruit.

Pope Paul VI, in Evangelii Nuntiandi, says that “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” It is because, as time goes by, many people learned to gauge the credibility of words based on their corresponding effects, actions, or outcomes. Speaking amidst a time when the presence of false prophets and influencers was rampant, Jesus warns the people to identify them by observing their fruits – the kind of actions they are doing and the life that they are living.

In our present times where trolls and fake news abound, we are also expected to practice the same vigilance. When lies abound, Christians must expose themselves more to Jesus and learn from His credibility and consistency to develop the capacity to differentiate a true prophet from a false one. /Vulnerasti, 2023