Pentecost III 2008
Fr. Joseph Scalisi

This gospel lesson is a bit scary, isn’t it…
“Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven”

However, Jesus words are not meant to produce fear and anxiety. After all, just last week we heard him say “do not be anxious”. Last week we heard him challenge us to think more about God and His righteousness, knowing that He can provide for our needs, rather than thinking only about ourselves and all the worry that goes along with trying to get what we want.

When we come to church and when we read the bible, we are often looking for comfort and guidance. That is good to do and God knows that we need both. But we must also remember that the bible is full of challenge and conviction. Being a Christian does not mean choosing one and leaving the other, it means that if we wish to receive the benefits of the one, we must expect the other.

Or, to put it another way, we are comforted by the fact that God loves us as we are. We do not have to be better looking, smarter, have more money, or more hair, or think holy thoughts every hour of the day before he can accept us. The fact is that he has gone 100% of the way to show us that we do not need to do anything to earn his love and his desire to give us his best in this life and in the next. Jesus says, come…come as you are.

But the same Lord who says come as you are also says take up your cross and follow me. He says do not spend so much time being anxious about yourself but think more about God and what he wants for your life and for others. He even says “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. This is better translated as be perfected…stated as a goal to strive for…into something new as a result of the relationship you have been given with the Almighty.

This section of the gospel that we have just heard is a part of a larger section in which we are given several warnings: we are warned to enter through the narrow gate, not to be tempted onto the broad road even though it is much easier because nothing really is asked of us. This broad road is the one on which people say there are many ways to get to heaven, and that I can do my thing and you can to your thing and no change is required by anyone.

In verses 15-18 we are warned against false prophets…those that speak sweet words of comfort without challenge and a god for every taste. Those that say that God does not really expect anything of you and that he only wants to make you happy rather than holy. Watch out, watch out for people who say you can have everything you want and nothing you don’t want. Watch out for people that say that God does not challenge us and call us to be more than we are at the moment.

In verse 19, immediately before our gospel for today picks up, he warns that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

And this is the point at which we pick up. With this last warning about the trees not bearing fruit being thrown into the fire, he then tells us what bearing fruit means: Bearing fruit does not mean simply saying “Lord, Lord” or look what I’ve done. Bearing fruit means doing the will of the Father in heaven. It is not related to your political affiliation. It is not which church you go to. It is not your résumé, in which you may feel some pride. It is doing…let me be clear…DOING the will of God.

Now, if this doing the will of God thing is so important, it would seem that we should to everything we can to figure out what the will of God actually is…one of the reasons is because I doubt very seriously that the will of God somehow ends or ceases to exist once we walk out these doors.

Lucky for us Jesus tells us what God’s will is in the chapters immediately before this one starting with chapter 5: in v. 16 we are told that God wants us to let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven.

And then he gets more specific. If we love God and choose to do his will, these are the things we will be doing:

v 17-20 we will keep and teach the commandments. Pop quiz…in the Ten Commandments, what is commandment number 4? It is to keep the Sabbath day holy. If you didn’t know that, then God wants you to polish up so you can keep it and teach it.

v. 21-26 we are to deal with anger and resolve conflict in a way that honors God and one another

v. 27-32 we are to maintain proper marital relationships, including doing everything possible not to put the relationship in harms way

v. 34-37 we are to speak honestly

v. 38-48 we are to act with generosity and love, even to our enemies

6:1-6 we are to give assistance (whether financially or not) and pray to our Father without wishing to call attention to ourselves for doing it

v. 14-15 we must forgive others for wrongs committed against us and for them being just as imperfect as we are

v. 24-34 and from last week we heard that we must seek first the kingdom of God. In other words, we must fly “rightside up” not allowing our anxiety and wants to consume us

7:1-5 we must refrain from judgment. Not because there is no right and wrong therefore no one can be judged. Rather, it is because God is the judge, and he is the one who will judge us all for our obedience to him. It is not our job to judge others for their obedience to us

This is the challenge that we are left with today. Our life, and everything we do with it is a reflection of how important doing the will of God is to us. The process of becoming a true disciple of the Lord and looking more like him than ourselves is downright impossible without his help.

But that is exactly what he requires of us…not just asks of us, not just wishes for us…but requires of us…demands of us. Come as you are, but leave different. And the difference between how you came in and the way you go out is the fruit that tells him that we are truly one of his.