“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 people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks."
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it quickly collapsed, and great was the ruin of that house.”
Luke 6:43-49 (NRSVue)
Can a leopard change its spots?
Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
Can you make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?
These old adages allow us to stay set in our ways as if change were impossible. They become easy excuses for us to hold onto when we know we need to make some fundamental shift in the way we are doing things.
Change is difficult. I've heard it said that when people are told to alter their diets or they will surely eat themselves into the grave, the majority are unable to make a long-lasting adjustment. So old habits do seem to die hard.
It would take a miracle to change.
Easter reveals that you are good fruit today and that we can throw yesterday's thorns in the trash.
The important part of reading through the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain through Lent will come tomorrow. How do we integrate these messages into our lives?
What does Easter mean on Monday? or Tuesday?
Can we develop an Easter foundation for our house?
Jesus believes we can or he wouldn't have wasted his time preaching this message.
We can turn a new leaf.
We can start from scratch.
We can wipe the slate clean.
But on Easter, we recognize that we don't have to do this of our own accord. Life and light have won over death and darkness. That is enough for me and for you.
Prayer for the day: Loving God, we give thanks for the teachings of Jesus that give us life. When we see them in light of the resurrection, they begin to take a new shape for us. Help us to live out these sermons of resurrection in the everyday. May we be more like the saints Jesus declares us to be. And may our foundation in Christ never waver. We pray these things in the name of the risen Lord. Amen.
Photo by Claudio via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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