DAILY BYTE
The story is told of a very diligent scholar who visited a rabbi renowned for his wisdom. The scholar was middle-aged so the rabbi asked him what he had done with his life so far.
‘I have gone through the Talmud three times,’ the scholar answered.
‘Yes, but how much of the Talmud has gone through you?’ the rabbi queried.
Jesus will say to them, ‘but I just did not know you.’ This is a vivid reminder that relationship and not achievement is central to our faith.
So how much of yourself do you allow to be known? Does God know you? Do you know yourself? How much of God’s Kingdom has gone through you?’
There is this fascinating Greek word used by Matthew’s Gospel – ‘Poeio’. It occurs eleven times during Matthew 7 alone and it means ‘to do’ but in a way that affects your heart. It is doing in the sense of becoming, where your outer actions touch and transform your inner world.
This word is used by the Gospel to connect the story before Jesus’ Dear John words with the story after – see the focus reading by way of example. (Every word used by the NRSV to translate ‘Poeio’ is in large print).
In other words, the illustration before about the fruit, and the story after about building houses are both connected to this Dear John statement by the same word constantly repeated.
This is because these two illustrations open the door for us into understanding exactly what Jesus means by ‘I just did not know you.’ They are about how we become known!
The interesting thing about fruit is that it never lies – it tells the truth. By looking at fruit you can tell exactly what kind of tree it comes from, and even discern the general health of the tree.
The true fruit of our lives will not be seen in big public world accomplishments and achievements like throwing out demons, rather it will be found in our relationships and other matters of the heart.
Like how we treat loved one’s behind closed doors ... that’s a fruit. Or how we treat others on busy roads (not much good fruit for me there I am afraid). To know someone’s fruit, it would be far more useful to observe how they treat a beggar on the street, when they think no one’s looking, than it would be to ask for their opinions on God.
These kinds of things – these fruits – will tell us who we really are.
Your fruit will reveal your inner world, and getting to grips with it is how we get to know ourselves and how we open ourselves to being known.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, we invite you to truly know us. We open every dark corner of our hearts to your love, and we pray that you would help us courageously know ourselves so that we might make ourselves known to you. Amen.
FOCUS READING
Matthew 7 and the word ‘Poieo’.
The words the NRSV uses to translate poieo are in large print.
7:12 In everything DO to others as you would have them DO to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
7:17-19 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.
7:21-22 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who DOES the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and DO many deeds of power in your name?'
7:24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and ACTS on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
7:26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not ACT on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
