Read this week’s readings here.

The past few weeks in the Gospel have focused on Luke 6.  This chapter of Luke’s Gospel is a treasure of really great teaching for our lives.  The over-reaching theme of evaluating our selves and not others, and the radical idea of true mercy are all here, in one chapter.  Jesus is outlining for the disciples and us how to live in love and mercy.  If you get the chance, take the time to read the 6th chapter of Luke this week, and reflect on it.  

   

In Luke 6 verses 37-42, he warns us not to judge – but that does not mean we do not discern what is right for us.  It is just not our place to judge a soul.  This section of the reading gives us the phrase often paraphrased as “the blind leading the blind.”  Instead judging others, Jesus wants us to self-evaluate and improve our selves.  The sacrament of Reconciliation can be a very helpful tool for us removing the beams from our eyes.

  

When modern Americans imagine life in Jesus time, we imagine dry, dusty desert locations.  However, Much of the area around the Sea of Galilee was a fertile farmland, where Olive and Pomegranate trees would grow and bear fruit.  The fruit tree was a great analogy to use, as the orchards around the Sea of Galilee were a great source of sustanance and profit for the people.

  

In verses 43-45, Jesus gives us the best guidance on how to discern if something or someone is in the right place. “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.”  The brilliance of this cannot be understated.  Whether you are evaluating giving to a charity, joining a group, or any other kind of discernment, look at the fruits.  When we look at ourselves, we can evaluate whether we are doing well by the fruits of our labor. When we are right with God, we can do some great things!

  

These links are articles I used for researching the Friday Update.

 

I also use the USCCB NAB Bible and its footnotes extensively.