Ecclesiasticus 27:5-8; 1 Corinthians 15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45
The Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus is also known as The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach. It is said to be the longest extant wisdom book from antiquity and consists of ethical teachings. Ethics are about good actions against actions that need to be avoided.
The image of a shaken sieve where rubbish is left behind is used to illustrate what it means to separate the good from the evil. People will be judged according to their actions. These actions include the words a person utters. Words can plant good or bad seeds in the community, and just like trees are described by their fruit, the words spoken reflect a person’s feeling.
Matthew later took this up when he stated that “It is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of the mouth” (Matt 15:11)
Many of the Corinthians who Paul addresses were people with skills who worked hard to achieve a better life. Some had managed to emerge from slavery into prosperity. They were of different origin, different language and customs. They certainly also had different concepts of life and death. Paul was trying to convince this audience that Jesus was buried and raised again.
His message is a message of hope as he is pointing out that, by the grace of God and through Jesus’ sacrifice, the dead would be raised. Referring to Isaiah’s praise to the Lord, Paul quotes the passage “he will swallow up death forever”. This is the victory for all believers.
Following up on the Golden Rule of not doing to others what you don’t want them to do to you, Luke reminds us of first looking at ourselves before judging others. If we do so, we might realise that our own failures are much bigger than those of our neighbour.
We are judged by our fruit – not by our appearance. Our fruit depends on who we are and how we treat ourselves and others.
The comparison of a good person and a good tree are similar to the writing in Ecclesiasticus. Trees as well as people are judged by their fruit. A tree is considered to be good if its fruit are good. A person is considered to be good if the words that the person uses show that his or her heart is filled with goodness.
St John Chrysostom, the “golden mouthed”, who lived in the 4th century, was known for his wisdom when it came to using words cautiously. He said: “Let us always guard our tongue; not that it should always be silent, but that it should speak at the proper time.”
BM
