Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Gn15:1-12, 17-18

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

"Fear not, Abram!
I am your shield;
I will make your reward very great."

But Abram said,
"O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,
if I keep on being childless
and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?"
Abram continued,
"See, you have given me no offspring,
and so one of my servants will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
"No, that one shall not be your heir;
your own issue shall be your heir."
He took him outside and said:
"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him,
"I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession."
"O Lord GOD," he asked,
"how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
He answered him,
"Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: "To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River the Euphrates."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

R.(8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia Jn 15:4a, 5b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 7:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them."

From: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

God’s Covenant with Abram

[1] After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not,
Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” [2] But Abram said,
“O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [3] And Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given
me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.” [4] And behold,
the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own
son shall be your heir.” [5] And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward
heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to
him, “So shall your descendants be.” [6] And he believed the Lord; and he
reckoned it to him as righteousness.

[7] And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans,
to give you this land to possess.” [8] But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know
that I shall possess it?” [9] He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a
she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
[10] And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against
the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. [11] And when birds of prey came
down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

[12] As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and
great darkness fell upon him.

[17] When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot and
a flaming torch passed between these pieces. [18] On that day the Lord made a
covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river
of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”

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Commentary:

15:1-21. God rewards Abraham for his generosity towards Mechizedek and for
his renouncing of the riches offered him by the king of Sodom. He appears to
him in a vision and promises his help, many descendants and the land of Ca-
naan. Here all that is required of Abraham is that he believe in the promise that
God himself, through a rite of covenant, undertakes to fulfill. This passage em-
phasizes the gravity of God’s promise and speaks of the faithfulness of God,
who will keep his word.

15:2-3. Abraham does not understand how God can keep the promise he made
to him in Haran (cf. chap. 12). The fact that he has no children is a severe test of
his faith; and anything else God may give him means little by comparison. This
is the first time Abraham speaks to God, and their conversation shows the deep
intimacy between them. He makes his concerns known to God: because Lot has
left him and Abraham has no son of his own, he needs to appoint an heir who will
take over leadership of the clan in return for serving Abraham in his lifetime. This
is the first friendly dialogue the Bible records between God and a man since the
dialogue God had with Adam in paradise (cf. 3:9-12). It is a conversation be-
tween friends and the first example, therefore, of a prayer of friendship and filia-
tion, for to pray is to speak to God.

“Of Damascus”: this is the translation most frequently given for a word which is
very unclear (the original text is unrecoverably corrupt). It does not seem to mean
that Eliezer was a native of Damascus, for he was a slave or servant born in A-
braham’s house (v. 3); therefore, it must be some other sort of title whose mea-
ning escapes us.

15:4-6. Once more Abraham is asked to make an act of faith in the word of God,
and he does so. This pleases God and is reckoned righteous. This makes Abra-
ham the father of all those who believe in God and his saving word.

In the light of this passage St Paul sees Abraham as the model of how a person
becomes righteous in God’s eyes—through faith in his word, the definitive word
being the announcement that God saves us through the death and resurrection
of Jesus. In this way, Abraham not only becomes the father of the Jewish people
according to the flesh, but also the father of those who without being Jews have
become members of the new people of God through faith in Jesus: “We say that
faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it reckoned to
him? Was it before or after he was circumcised? It was not after, but before he
was circumcised. He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness
which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make
him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have
righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the father of the circumcised who
are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our fa-
ther Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Rom 4:9-12).

Abraham’s faith revealed itself in his obedience to God when he left his homeland
(cf. 12:4), and later on when he was ready to sacrifice his son (cf. 22:1-4). This is
the aspect of Abraham’s obedience which is given special emphasis in the Letter
of St James, inviting Christians to prove the genuineness of their faith with obedi-
ence to God and good works: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works,
when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active a-
long with his works, and faith was completed by works, and scripture was fulfilled
which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteous-
ness’; and he was called the friend of God” (Jas 2:21-23).

15:7-21. The strength of God’s resolve to give the land of Canaan is vividly demon-
strated by his ordaining a rite of covenant to externalize the commitment underta-
ken by both parties. According to this ancient rite (cf. Jer 34:18), the action of the
two parties—”passing between” the pieces of the victims-indicated a readiness to
be similarly cut in pieces if one were guilty of breaking the pact. The text makes
the point that God (represented by the flaming torch: cf Ex 3:2; 13:21; 19:18)
“passes between” the bloody limbs of the victims, to ratify his promise.

This is how the book of Genesis portrays the people of Israel’s right to the land of
Canaan and explains how the land came to belong to it only in recent times, after
the Exodus. During the ceremony Abraham is given advance information about
the afflictions the people will suffer before the promise is fulfilled. An explanation
is also given as to why God will take the land away from the Canaanites (here
described as Amorites): their evil-doing will have gone too far. God emerges here
as the Lord of the earth and of nations. On the sojourn of the people of Israel in
Egypt, cf. the note on 37:2-50:25.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 7:15-20

False Prophets

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [15] “Beware of false prophets, who come to you
in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] You will know them by
their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? [17] So, every
sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. [18] A sound tree can-
not bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will know them
by their fruits.”

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Commentary:

15-20. There are many references in the Old Testament to false prophets; per-
haps the best-known passage is Jeremiah 23:9-40 which condemns the impiety
of those prophets who “prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray”;
“who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes; they speak visions of their own
minds, not from the mouth of the Lord [...]. I did not send the prophets, yet they
ran. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied”; they “lead my people astray
by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them;
so that they do not profit this people at all.”

In the life of the Church the Fathers see these false prophets, as of whom Jesus
speaks, in heretics, who apparently are pious and reformist but who in fact do not
have Christ’s sentiments (cf. St Jerome, “Comm. in Matth.”, 7). St John Chrysos-
tom applies this teaching to anyone who appears to be virtuous but in fact is not,
and thereby misleads others.

How are false prophets and genuine prophets to be distinguished? By the fruit
they produce. Human nobility and divine inspiration combine to give the things
of God a savor of their own. A person who truly speaks the things of God sows
faith, hope, charity, peace and understanding; whereas a false prophet in the
Church of God, in his preaching and behavior, sows division, hatred, resentment,
pride and sensuality (cf. Gal 5:16-25). However, the main characteristic of a
false prophet is that he separates the people of God from the Magisterium of the
Church, through which Christ’s teaching is declared to the world. Our Lord also
indicates that these deceivers are destined to eternal perdition.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17. Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The Lord had before commanded His Apostles, that they should not do their alms, prayers, and fasting before men, as the hypocrites; and that they might know that all these things may be done in hypocrisy, He speaks saying, Take heed of false prophets.

AUG. When the Lord had said that there were few that find the straight gate narrow way, that heretics, who often commend themselves because of the smallness of their numbers, might not intrude themselves, He straightway subjoins, Take heed of false prophets.

CHRYS. Having taught that the gate is strait, because there are many that pervert the way that leads to it, He proceeds, Take heed of false prophets. In which that they might be the more careful, He reminds them of the things that were done among their fathers, calling them false prophets; for even in that day the like things fell out.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. What is written below that the Law and the Prophets were until John, is said, because there should he no prophecy concerning Christ after He was come. Prophets indeed there have been and are, but not prophesying of Christ, rather interpreting the things which had been prophesied of Christ by the ancients, that is by the doctors of the Churches. For no man can unfold prophetic meaning, but the Spirit of prophecy. The Lord then knowing that there should be false teachers, warns them of divers heresies, saying, Take heed of false prophets. And for as much as they would not be manifest Gentiles, but lurk under the Christian name, He said not 'See you,' but, Take heed. For a thing that is certain is simply seen, or looked upon; but when it is uncertain it is watched or narrowly considered. Also He says Take heed, because it is a sure precaution of security to know him whom you avoid. But this form of warning, Take heed, does not imply that the Devil will introduce heresies against God's will, but by His permission only; but because He would not choose servants without trial, therefore He sends them temptation; and because He would not have them perish through ignorance, He therefore warns them beforehand. Also that no heretical teacher might maintain that He spoke here of Gentile and Jewish teachers and not of them, He adds, who come to you in sheep's clothing. Christians are called sheep, and the sheep's clothing is a form of Christianity and of feigned religion. And nothing so casts out all good as hypocrisy; for evil that puts on the semblance of good, cannot be provided against, because it is unknown. Again, that the heretic might not allege that He here speaks of the true teachers which were yet sinners, He adds, But inwardly they are ravening wolves. But Catholic teachers should they indeed have been sinners, are spoken of as servants of the flesh, yet not as ravening wolves, because it is not their purpose to destroy Christians. Clearly then it is of heretical teachers that He speaks; for they put on the guise of Christians, to the end they may tear in pieces the Christian with the wicked fangs of seduction. Concerning such the Apostle speaks, I know that after my departure there will enter among you grievous wolves, not sparing the flock.

CHRYS Yet He may seem here to have aimed under the title of false prophets, not so much at the heretic, as at those who, while their life is Corrupt, yet wear an outward face of virtuousness; whence it is said, By their fruits you shall know them. For among heretics it is possible many times to find a good life, but among those I have named never.

AUG. Wherefore it is justly asked, what fruits then He would have us look to? For many esteem among fruits some things which pertain to the sheep's clothing, and in this manner are deceived concerning wolves. For they practice fasting, almsgiving, or praying, which they display before men, seeking to please those to whom these things seem difficult. These then are not the fruits by which He teaches us to discern them. Those deeds which are done with good intention, are the proper fleece of the sheep itself, such as are done with bad intention, or in error, are nothing else than a clothing of wolves; but the sheep ought not to hate their own clothing because it is often used to hide wolves. What then are the fruits by which we may know an evil tree? The Apostle says, The works of the flesh are manifest, which are, fornication, uncleanness, &c. And which are they by which we may know a good tree? The same Apostle teaches, saying, The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The fruits of a man are the confession of his faith and the works of his life; for he who utters according to God the words of humility and a true confession, is the sheep; but he who against the truth howls forth blasphemies against God is the wolf.

JEROME; What is here spoken of false prophets we may apply to all whose dress and speech promise one thing and their actions exhibit another. But it is specially to be understood of heretics, who by observing temperance, chastity, and fasting, surround themselves as it were with a them garment of sanctity,, but in as much as their hearts within are poisoned, they deceive the souls of the more simple brethren

AUG. But from their actions we may conjecture whether this their outward appearance is put on for display. For when by any temptations those things are withdrawn or denied them which they had either attained or sought to attain by this evil, then needs must that it appear whether they be the wolf in sheep's clothing, or the sheep in his own.

GREG. Also the hypocrite is restrained by peaceful ones of Holy Church, and therefore appears clothed with godliness; but let any trial of faith ensue, straight the wolf ravenous at heart strips himself of his sheep's skin, and shows by persecuting how great his rage against the good.

CHRYS And a hypocrite is easily discerned; for the way they are commanded to walk is a hard way, and the hypocrite is loath to toil. And that you may not say that you are unable to find out them that are such, He again enforces what He had said by example from men, saying, Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The grape has in it a mystery of Christ. As the bunch sustains many grapes held together by the woody stem, so likewise Christ holds many believers joined to Him by the wood of the Cross. The fig again is the Church which binds many faithful by a sweet embrace of charity, as the fig contains many seeds enclosed in one skin. The fig then has these significations, namely, love in its sweetness, unity in the close adhesion of its seeds. In the grape is shown patience, in that it is cast into the wine press - joy, because Wine makes glad the heart of man-purity, because it is not mixed with water and sweetness, in that it delights. The thorns and thistles are the heretics. And as a thorn or a thistle has sharp pricks on every part, so the Devil's servants, on whatsoever side you look at them, are full of wickedness. Thorns and thistles then of this sort cannot hear the fruits of the Church. And having instanced in particular trees, as the fig, the vine, the thorn, and the thistle, He proceeds to show that this is universally true, saying, Thus every good tree brings forth good fruit, but an evil tree brings forth evil fruit.

AUG. In this place we must guard against the error of such as imagine that the two trees refer to two different natures; the one of God, the other not. But we affirm that they derive no countenance from these two trees; as it will be evident to any who will read the context that He is speaking here of men.

ID. These men of whom we have spoken are offended with these two natures, not considering them according to their true usefulness; whereas it is not by our advantage or disadvantage, but in itself considered, that nature gives glory to her Framer. All natures then that are, because they are, have their own manner, their own appearance, and as it were their own harmony, and are altogether good.

CHRYS. But that none should say, An evil tree brings forth indeed evil fruit, but it brings forth also good, and so it becomes hard to discern, as it has a two-fold produce; on this account He adds, A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit.

AUG. From this speech the Manichees suppose that neither can a soul that is evil be possibly changed for better, nor one that is good into worse. As though it had been, A good tree cannot become bad, nor a bad tree become good; whereas it is thus said, A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, nor the reverse. The tree is the soul, that is, the man himself; the fruit is the man's works. An evil man therefore cannot work good works, nor a good man evil works. Therefore if an evil man would work good things, let him first become good. But as long as he continues evil, he cannot bring forth good fruits. Like as it is indeed possible that what was once snow, should cease to be so; but it cannot be that snow should be warm; so it is possible that he who has been evil should be so no longer; but it is impossible that an evil man should do good. For though he may sometimes be useful, it is not he that does it, but it comes of Divine Providence superintending.

RABAN. And man is denominated a good tree, or a bad, after his will, as it is good or bad. His fruit is his works, which call neither be good when the will is evil, nor evil when it is good.

AUG. But as it is manifest that all evil works proceed from an evil will, as its fruits from an evil tree; so of this evil will itself whence will you say that it has sprung, except that the evil will of an angel sprung from an angel, of man from man? And what were these two before those evils arose in them, but the good work of good, and praiseworthy nature. See then out of good arises all; nor was there anything at all out of which it might arise but what was good. I mean the evil will itself; since there was no evil before it, no evil works, which could not come but from evil will as fruit from an evil tree. Nor can it be said that it sprung out of good in this way, because it was made good by a good God; for it was made of nothing, and not of God.

JEROME; We would ask those heretics to affirm that there are two natures directly opposed to each other, if they admit that a good tree cannot bring forth fruit, how it was possible for Moses, a good tree, to sin as he did at the water of contradiction? Or for Peter to deny his Lord in the Passion, saying, I know not the man? Or how, on the other hand, could Moses' father-in-law, an evil tree, inasmuch as he believed not in the God of Israel, give good counsel?

CHRYS. He had not enjoined them to punish the false prophets, and therefore shows them the horrors of that punishment that is of God, saying, Every tree that brings not forth good fruit shall be hewn down, and cast into the fire. In these words He seems to aim also at the Jews, and thus calls to mind the word of John the Baptist, denouncing punishment against them in the very same words. For he had thus spoken to the Jews, warning them of the ax impending, the tree that should be cut down, and the fire that could not be extinguished. But if one will examine somewhat closely, here are two punishments, to be cut down, and to be burned; and he that is burned is also altogether cut out of the kingdom; which is the harder punishment. Many indeed fear no more than hell; but I say that the fall of that glory is a far more bitter punishment, than the pains of hell itself. For what evil great or small would not a father undergo, that he might see and enjoy a most dear son? Let us then think the same of that glory; for there is no son so dear to his father as is the rest of the good, to be deceased and to be with Christ. The pain Of hell is indeed intolerable, yet are ten thousand hells nothing to falling from that blessed glory, and being held in hate by Christ.

GLOSS. From the foregoing similitude He draws the conclusion to what He had said before, as being manifest, saying, Therefore by their fruits you shall know them.

Catena Aurea Matthew 7

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 ©

Count the stars: such shall be your descendants

It happened that the word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.’

‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless...’ Then Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.

‘I am the Lord’ he said to him ‘who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to make you heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘how am I to know that I shall inherit it?’ He said to him, ‘Get me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these, cut them in half and put half on one side and half facing it on the other; but the birds he did not cut in half. Birds of prey came down on the carcases but Abram drove them off.

Now as the sun was setting Abram fell into a deep sleep, and terror seized him. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a smoking furnace and a firebrand that went between the halves. That day the Lord made a Covenant with Abram in these terms:

‘To your descendants I give this land,

from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River,

the river Euphrates.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 104(105):1-4,6-9 ©