BEWARE, AND BE AWARE

A Reading from the  gospel of Matthew (7, 15-20)   ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. The Word of the Lord. 

Just before today’s gospel selection, Jesus tells the crowds that there are two gates to choose from, a narrow one which leads to life and a wide one that leads to destruction. Jesus respects our freedom but he encourages us to go through the narrow gate, the one that leads to life, for he himself tells us that he came so that we can have life and have it abundantly, for he is the good shepherd. It makes sense therefore that the first word he tells us in the gospel today is “beware”.

I have to confess that this word disturbed me a bit. I consulted the dictionary that told me that “to beware, is a warning that somebody or something is dangerous and that one should be careful”. If you see a sign “beware of the dog” it tells you that the dog bites, so do not trespass … it keeps one from trespassing out of fear. Does Jesus want us to follow him out of fear? In my childhood we were taught to obey God out of fear, not out of love or because that was the right thing to do. So Jesus tells us to beware if we want to follow him. What is he telling us? Surely, not that he is eager to punish us if we disobey.  “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?” (Ez 18, 23). So he is telling us to try to do the right thing, if we want to really enjoy life.

When he tells us to ‘beware’ of the false prophets, Jesus is not trying to frighten us into obedience, no. He is inviting us to ‘be aware’ of the choices we have to make, what are the consequences of our decisions. We are invited to use our brains, to inform ourselves whom we should follow, for there are many false prophets around us, especially making use of modern means of communication. Unfortunately, many just accept uncritically what they read, or hear, and those who do this are not necessarily bad people, but they prefer to use the wide easy and beautifully asphalted and decorated highways. Indeed, God does not want blind followers, blind obedience is not his way.

So when he tells us ‘beware’, he is also telling us and more eagerly “be wise”, “Be prudent”, “be prepared”.

Jesus told us to be wise like when he spoke about the ten bridesmaids, of whom five were wise, and five foolish. The foolish took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps and they were prepared to receive the bridegroom when he arrived for he was late. “Keep awake therefore”, Jesus said, “for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25, 1-13).

Again, he told us to be wise like the man who built his house on rock and when rain fell, and floods came and winds blew that house did not fall, not like the house of the foolish man who built his house on sand and it did not withstand the rain, the floods and the winds that blew against it. How can we build on solid foundations? Only by listening to what God tells us through Jesus Christ and act accordingly, as Jesus did when he told the people: “I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6, 38).

And when Jesus was preparing his twelve apostles for mission he told them: “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. … Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues… because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles.” (Mt 10, 16-18)

Jesus is right when he asks us to beware of false prophets, and we will be right and wise if we heed the advice the apostle John gave us in his first letter when he wrote: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God” (1 Jn 4, 1-3). Yes there are many antichrists in our midst.