Is it an angel? Judge by it’s fruits; Angles: Day 192

Satan, St. Paul tells us, disguises himself  as an angel of light, and his ministers will call themselves apostles of Christ. How will we know the genuine article? St. Cyril of Alexandria repeats Christ’s advice: examine the fruit.

Again, Christ somewhere says, “Beware of those who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). See again, Christ commands that those who come to us must be distinguished not by their cloth- ing, but by what they really are. “For the tree is known by its fruit,” he says (Matt. 12:33); and just as it is ignorance and folly for us to expect to find our favorite kinds of fruits on thorns, like grapes or figs, so it is ridiculous for us to imagine that we can find anything admirable—I mean the nobleness of virtue—in hypocrites and the profane.

Would you like to see how true this is? Would you like to see who the wolves are that clothe themselves in the sheep’s skin? Look at the writings of the holy Apostles: hear what they say of certain men: “For such men are false apostles, de- ceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13-15).

We may well call these people thorns and briers. There is no particle of sweetness in them, but everything that is bitter and of an evil nature—for the fig does not grow on thorns—nor will one find anything pleasant in them, for grapes are not produced on briers. We must decide, then, the character of the teacher, not by appearances, but by the acts of each one’s life. –Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Sermon 33

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

I say I’m a Christian, but in the sight of the angels, do I look more like grapes and figs, or thorns and briers?

CLOSING PRAYER

Guardian Angel, help me yield fruit thirty or a hundred times in Christ’s Church.

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