Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
It is easy to recognize danger from outsiders. But what about when someone appears to be part of the flock? Someone might well appear to be a sheep, go through the motions as a sheep would do, and yet be a genuine danger beneath a pristine outer veneer. Perhaps all of us, to one degree or another, present a calculated appearance in the Church so as to not embarrass ourselves or cause scandal to others. But generally we aren't masking genuinely hostile intentions. Generally. Sometimes even we get so caught up in arguments, tribalism, and partisanship, that we do act in ways that are like attempts to devour one another. Paul warned the Galatians about this risk.
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another (see Galatians 5:15).
Even we may spew our own opinions as though they were validated divine prophecy. That there are others in the sheepfold who have more fully invested in an identity with which we ourselves have occasionally dabbled should not be surprising. The less scrupulous one is the more they might be tempted to seek personal gain from the sheep who surround them.
Jesus did not desire his followers to be naive or to open themselves unnecessary to potential harm. The danger about which he warned in today's Gospel was particularly that of false prophets. And the particular danger false prophets represent is a danger to our grasp of the truth. If we hear, accept, and put into practice false prophecy, we risk our connection to Jesus who is himself the truth. And so we must not be too ready to believe any claim, no matter how sheep-like the one making the claim appears. We must use the discernment strategy Jesus taught.
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.
Thorns and thistles would seem to be obvious warning signs. But remember that the wolves come in disguise, masking their fangs. False prophets may have some apparent fruit, and it may appear from a distance to be decent, but one bite may well reveal it to be rotten. Familiarity with fruit at a distance is less valuable for discernment than a closer analysis. Does an apparent fruit just sound theoretically appealing or is it genuinely contributing to the growth of the Church, drawing people closer to Jesus himself? Does it accord with what we know of the truth from the teaching authority entrusted to the Church? Or does it seem to come from left field as an unprecedented innovation?
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (see Matthew 12:34-35).
To avoid the danger of wolves in the sheepfold we should be attentive and on our guard, but we need not be anxious. We should instead follow the instructions Jesus gave, and value true sheep and good fruit all the more when we find them. Ultimately we can rest easily because we have promise after promise that Jesus himself will shepherd and protect his sheep.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand (see John 10:27-28).
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