A Tree is Known by its Fruit 憑樹的果子把它認出來

Pentecost, Year C
Theme: A Tree is Known by its Fruit 憑樹的果子把它認出來

St. Luke the Evangelist writes, “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.” (Luke 6:43-44a)
Christians are supposed to be spiritual persons. Catholic adults are supposed to have received the Sacrament of Confirmation, i.e. the Holy Spirit has been conferred on them. Therefore, people should be able to find the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, viz. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) in the lives of practicing Catholics. These nine fruits are targets towards which Christians strive to lead their lives. They are yardsticks that measure how successful Christians are leading their lives. Unless Christians know what these fruits are, their lives would be like boats sailing aimlessly across the oceans without a rudder, not knowing which direction to go. At this Feast of the Pentecost, it is high time we examined these nine fruits in greater detail.

While I was searching the Internet to gather interesting materials for a short reflection session for Sunday School students who are going to receive Confirmation, I came across short video clips by Bishop Boyea of the Diocese of Lansing. He made use of Biblical characters to illustrate the effects of the seven gifts and nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Though his target audience were adults and his stance was traditional, he was dynamic and passionate. So, I’ll summarize his points in the following report.

For the fruit of Love, Bishop Boyea chose the story of Aquila and Priscilla in the Acts of the Apostles. Through baptism, Christians have already started their lives along the theological virtue of charity. So, this fruit of love is not something extra, but is rather the Holy Spirit prompting us into concrete acts of love. The way this couple helped Paul and Apollos illustrates three aspects of love prompted by the Holy Spirit. Firstly, the Holy Spirit helps Christians make charity a commitment and stick to it. It is a love strong enough to sacrifice oneself for the others. Lastly, it is a love that seek the good of the others rather than for ourselves. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_5Wb2yoEsY)

For the fruit of Joy, Bishop Boyea put it in the context of sufferings and chose the life of Jesus to illustrate. Jesus is most filled with joy when He faced crucifixion and death on the cross because He was doing the Father’s will. One is joyful when one lives well and acts well even in the face of trials in life! It’s God’s will that we make ourselves a gift for the others, to give ourselves away for the needy. The world hates this and therefore we are in trouble. The Holy Spirit helps us go through sufferings with joy by focusing on the others. He helps us see the way God works, thus finding meanings even in chaos and disasters. Lastly, the Holy Spirit gives us confidence in living Jesus’ way because Jesus has already won the world! God is on our side even though the world looks powerful. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOB0dmpLCAI)

For the fruit of Peace, Bishop Boyea chose Jeremiah to illustrate. We shall be at peace when we are living in a right relationship with God and with the others. First of all, we cannot have true peace by ignoring sins. We need to leave our sinful ways behind before we can have genuine peace. This applies to both individuals and countries. Secondly, doing and embracing God’s will against the world is never easy, unless we have great faith in our relationship with God who is almighty. Only the Holy Spirit can inspire such a confidence and perseverance in us. Then, our peace shall be genuine. Lastly where there is no justice, there is no peace. Thus, we need to be just and loving to all others, from the least to the greatest. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQyOWzsqKQ)

For the fruit of Patience, Bishop Boyea chose the story of Jonah who was a biased prophet and did not want to see the Assyrians, their conquerors, convert and receive God’s mercy! We shouldn’t be impatient with God’s patience. The fruit of patience helps us NOT to give up on one another, not even our enemies. We need patience to figure out God’s plan in the lives of all of us and to accept God’s patience with His people. Secondly the Holy Spirit helps us rejoice in the conversion of the others. After all, God does not want to see the wicked demise. Lastly, the Holy Spirit helps us see in God’s eye. We tend to play God and judge the others. No. Only God is God. Only God can judge our conscience. Be patient and open to God’s will and God’s time, waiting for God’s grace to change men’s hearts. There is a time for everything! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6q7bOvJCmY)

Ruth exemplifies the fruit of Kindness. She had no obligation to return to Israel with Naomi, her widowed mother-in-law. Her kindness is epitomized in this line, “Wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. Where you die I will die, and there be buried.” (Ruth 1:16-17) Kindness focuses on the good of the others. We’re keepers of our brothers (Genesis 4:19) and thus we should be loyal to each other. It is a duty for us to be kind to each other. Secondly, the Holy Spirit helps us identify with the poor to make it easier for us to show kindness to each other. Lastly, the Holy Spirit helps us go beyond the minimum to do what God would do, to be kind in abundance. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5T3e_ajvDs)

Bishop Boyea uses the story of the rich young man who failed to follow Jesus as a counter example to show what Goodness actually means. The young man has kept all the commandments. So, he should be good by any standard. However, he is NOT good enough. Only God is good (Luke 18:19). So, when we’re able to lead our lives like God, we bear the fruit of goodness. Keeping all the commandments is already good but not enough. Jesus is both human and divine. He is the perfect exemplar of kindness. So, when we accept Jesus’ invitation to give up everything to follow Him to spread the gospel, we shall be leading a life of goodness. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GXyB_7idQ4)

The story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac illustrates the fruit of Faith. Isaac was Abraham’s only son at his old age. When he looked at Isaac, Abraham saw his future. Wrong! Only God can guarantee our future. Therefore, when Abraham went through this sacrifice of his only beloved son, he learnt that God and not Isaac was his future. The Holy Spirit helps us see what God’s will is in our lives and gives us the courage to carry out His will. It also helps us take our relationship with God seriously. God wants a relationship which is total. Lastly, the Holy Spirit will help us face any difficulty with trust in God who will see us through because God is faithful. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8K-UQjyvbg)

Moses doesn’t usually come to mind when we think about Gentleness. Yet, Bishop Boyea helps us see gentleness in a firm manner. Gentleness is NOT soft or weak. Rather when a person shows gentleness, he overcomes his own arrogance, impatience, anger or jealousy. The story about Miriam and Aaron openly opposing the leadership of their brother Moses out of jealousy, resulting in a punishment of leprosy by God and Moses interceding for their healings illustrates this gentleness. The Holy Spirit helps Moses let go of his anger and be meek towards those who attacked him personally. Secondly, the Holy Spirit gives us this gentleness to help bring other back to the truth. Being harsh towards sinners could only harden their hearts further! Lastly, the Holy Spirit helps us look upon others with a mild and gentle friendliness. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFoJ1U-QXdc)

Bishop Boyea chose Judith to illustrate the last fruit, Inner Strength which enables us to resist all forces which seek to control us: our fear, desire to revenge, angers and addictions etc. Like athletes, we need to discipline and master over ourselves (1 Corinthians 9:25) and focus on Christ only. Let this discipline become our daily habit. This perseverance is the work of God, not ours. The Holy Spirit will provide the grace and confidence that we need to lead a life of temperance, a life of self-control and win victories for Christ.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYvBUNtSmfw)
2019 Reflection