Reading 1
1 Tm 1:15-17
Beloved:
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel
Lk 6:43-49
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?
I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act
is like a person who built a house on the ground
without a foundation.
When the river burst against it,
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”
Meditation: Luke 6:43-49
“Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
This old adage has much gospel truth within it. In fact, today’s reading about fruit reflecting the kind of tree it comes from says something very similar. How and where you are rooted shows the way you will grow and determines the kind and quality of fruit you will bear. We get a certain degree of support and nourishment from our friends and associates, and thus reflect their influence. Where you turn for information upon which to base decisions says something about your approach to life.
Going a step further, we can apply this to family life. More than anyone else, parents are the initial and most influential source of development and formation for their children. The home is the “soil” where they will take root—the soil that will probably have the most significant impact on the kind of fruit the children will bear.
It stands to reason, then, that parents who are rooted in Christ will bear the fruit of children who are secure in who they are and who are open to the Lord. So the question is, “How am I doing in giving my children the proper grounding in the Lord?”
The answer doesn’t have to be grandiose or excessively evangelistic. Sometimes, the smallest things make the biggest impact. Let your children see you praying. Speak to them in a way that they know that Jesus is your best friend and the source of your strength. Show them how forgiveness is the path to the wholeness we need in life as we admit our failings and move on. Even something as minor as saying, “I forgive you” instead of “That’s okay” can have a great impact on a child.
Of course, the goal is that our children find their security and nourishment in the Lord more than in us. But that will happen as we provide the right kind of environment. When their world expands beyond the family, children will look for sources that will continue to nourish the growth you started. They may try some other paths, but they will always know what is really capable of producing the wholeness and peace they long for. Be assured, your efforts at forming and evangelizing your children will be with them wherever they go.
“Father, I don’t always know the best way to keep you present to our family. I trust you to show me the way.”
1 Timothy 1:15-17; Psalm 113:1-7
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