In the Gospel today, Jesus warns us that appearances can be deceiving. We can’t just judge a book by its cover, we have to find out what’s inside. A wolf can wear a sheepskin, but that doesn’t make him a sheep. It’s a trick. He’s trying to look innocent, but he wants to eat the sheep – something a real sheep could never do. Real sheep will eat grass. A wolf in sheep clothing will eat sheep. Changing his outward appearance does not change his inner nature. He is still a wolf regardless of his appearance, and his behavior will show his true nature. Grapes come from grapevines and nowhere else. Thorn bushes cannot produce grapes. It’s not in their nature.  Apples can never grow from an ivy tree. Everything has an innate nature that will show through.

There’s a new zombie movie coming out this month that I’m excited to see, even though I hate zombies. There’s no good from a zombie. The only thing to do with a zombie is shoot it in the head. But in zombie movies, people are torn. The zombies are reanimated dead bodies, but they look like the people they used to be.  There’s always someone in a zombie movie who hesitates and does not shoot the zombie in the head because it looks her sweetie. But it’s not her sweetie. Her sweetie would never try to rip off her arm or eat her brains out. Zombies are carnivorous monsters who only want to kill and eat human brains, something the loved ones they resemble could never do.

Look at actions, not appearances. Don’t trust the wolf who looks innocent in the sheepskin, but see what fruit he bears. He will prove himself to be ravenous monster he is underneath, not the innocent sheep he appears on the surface. Only a fig tree can bear figs, you’ll only get stung by a thistle. The good people will show their goodness, and the bad cannot hide their true nature for long.