Shannon Dycus lives in Indianapolis, IN with her husband, Gregory and two sons – ages 4 and 6. She is Co-Pastor at First Mennonite Church in Indianapolis.
33 “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37)
In this season of Advent, we spend a lot of time reminding ourselves to wait. We promote the patience and sacrifice and discomfort that are required in this season of waiting.
In my own liturgical rhythm, I am recognizing how much energy I give teaching myself to wait without giving enough attention to the purpose of this waiting.
While waiting is a helpful spiritual practice, Advent invites us to watchfully consider how we will accept the gift of Christ into our lives. It’s about the waiting, but an active waiting. It’s most about the preparation while we wait. We wait so that we can be prepared. How do we prepare our hearts for the joy and hope that come to us in Christ? How do we make ourselves ready to mirror the peace and the love we will be shown?
This Advent passage is direct help in our preparation. In this passage, Jesus asks: What are you going to do about your heart?
We hear a feisty Jesus here, frustrated by the Pharisees and offering a sharp critique. He has healed a demoniac and rebuked the Pharisees who are more concerned with religiosity than healing. He’s reminding the Pharisees again – your words reflect your nature:
Either make the tree good, and its fruit good;
or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.
What are you going to do about your heart?
This is not just a question about the colloquial ways we give purpose to our heart. The word for heart – kardia – has several meanings: inner self, mind, volition, desire and intent. Choosing to bear good or bad fruit is about where we direct our mind and what we fill our desires with. Rightheartedness is essential and the fruit of our heart becomes our words.
I tell you, on the day of judgement, you will have to give account for every careless word you utter
This is a particularly ripe notion as our times require that we make deliberate choices regarding our hearts and our words. With hate letters and stereotypes, unjust silence and empty platitudes– what words will our hearts produce?
How do we prepare our hearts, in this Advent season, to be the tree that can bear good fruit? Will we speak names and not labels? Will we engage each other with hope for wholeness and not rightness? Will we speak when the darkness of hate obscures?
for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned
The Spirit of Christ is one who comes to us prioritizing healing over rules, offering mercy over contempt. The season of Advent is offered to us as a time to embrace this Spirit. We can fill our hearts with healing and mercy. We can allow our words to fall from our lips as grace and love. Verse 35 in The Message translation of this passage says: “It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.”
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