Saint Luke 6, 43-49: That which overflows from the heart.
Today we see in the Gospel the comparisons that Jesus made, taken from daily life, they were very expressive in transmitting his teachings. Today there are two: the tree that bears good or bad fruit, and the building that rests on rock or ground. Trees are known for their fruits, not their appearance. Brambles do not bear figs. Thus people: «He who is good, from the goodness that he treasures in his heart, brings out the good, and the one who is bad, from the evil brings out the evil.»
The future of a building depends in large part on where its foundation rests. If on rock or on earth or sand. In the first case, the house will withstand shocks and floods. In the other, no. The same happens in people, depending on how they build their personality on solid values or on appearances. It is like a comment on the antitheses of the beatitudes that Jesus dictated to us on Wednesday of this week. What wisdom and what an exact portrait of our life these phrases offer us! «What overflows from the heart, the mouth speaks.» When our words are bitter, it is because our hearts are oozing with bitterness. When words are kind, it is because the heart is full of goodness and that is what appears out. We have reasons to examine our conscience, at the end of the day, if we remember the various interventions that we have had during the day.
The same with the other construction simile. Sometimes the building of our personality – the exterior façade – appears very striking and promising. But we have not laid foundations, or we have put them on inconsistent foundations: taste, fashion, interest. Not about something permanent: The Word of God. Are we wondering that these buildings – our own lives, or those of others, which seemed very safe – «collapse by collapsing»? We are always on time to correct deviations. How do we have the heart? Is it sterile, bad, full of pride?
Then our works will be sterile and evil. Do we work to cultivate inner feelings of mercy, of humility, of peace? Then our works will also be benign and edifying. We have to watch and examine our heart, which is the root of words and deeds. We can also ask ourselves the question of how we build our future. Whatever our age, can we say that we are laying the foundation of our building on firm values, on the Word of God? Do we only take care of the facade or above all the interiority?
Peace and good
Fr. Antonio Majeesh George Kallely, OFM
