Matthew 7:15-20
If you were given a stack of one hundred twenty-dollar bills, knowing that there were two fake bills within the stack, would you be able to find the counterfeit bills? If you needed to study for this “test”, would you study genuine bills or counterfeit? The best way to spot the two counterfeit bills is to know every aspect of the genuine bill inside and out. Full knowledge of the watermarks, threads, prints, feel, shape, size, and weight of the true bills would make the counterfeit ones stand out like a sore thumb.
This same approach can be applied to our spiritual life. Knowing Christ’s words, teachings, methods, and love would make any counterfeit gospel stand out. This knowledge of the truth is a sure guard against falsehood, depravity, and twisted scripture.
Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel that, “by their fruits you will know them.” This is reassuring. However, there are plenty of fruits that look like the genuine article but are not. If we are not well trained in identifying true, genuine fruit, the subtle differences may be overlooked – to our detriment.
The wolves may genuinely look like sheep. The donkey may at first glance truly resemble the lion. The darnel (tare) is almost identical to the wheat. Tolerance can take on the appearance of love. Evil can appear good in the right situation. The voice of a false shepherd sounds eerily similar to that of a true shepherd.
These counterfeit ideas were not unknown to Christ and therefore He states clearly that we should – beware! So how do we protect ourselves and those we love? How do we discern good fruit from bad? A thorough knowledge of Christ, the Scriptures, and His Church is our first line of defense. Immersing ourselves in the scriptures, Church Fathers, and Catechism will help us know the Truth. These “tools” enable us to examine the sheep, wheat, and fruit and help us to decide if they are the true article. However, sometime we have to wait and see. We have to wait for the fruit. This means exercising caution because often a rotten tree can appear healthy on the outside and the reality of the rottenness is only realized through its fruit. This is why Jesus tells us to judge the fruit and not the tree. The darnel plant looks exactly like wheat when growing but reveals itself by turning black when finished growing and the fruit is present.
Study, pray, learn, love Christ with all that you are but beware, hold them up to the Light of Christ, test them against the Truth. St. John tells us just as much, “Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) Translated: Beloved, do not trust every (bill, grain of wheat, fruit, gospel, lamb) but test each one to see whether they belong to God, because many false bills are circulating throughout the world!
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