His disciples said to him, "Who are you to say these things to us?" "You don't understand who I am from what I say to you. Rather, you have become like the Judeans, for they love the tree but hate its fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree." (43 Thomas)

Recently I was the only visitor at a hotel's free snack bar. The two young women working the room ignored me and continued their intense discussion.

"You don't know anything about Sodom and Gomorrah, do you?" the brunette accused.

"I used to go to church," the blonde responded meekly. "I don't know as much as I should, but I know about the wife turned into a pillar of salt. I know about Lot getting drunk."

The brunette was dismissive, "It's just like being in school, you've got to understand the details before you can get the..."

"I know that Jesus was a good man, a great teacher," the blonde interjected. "But I don't know, being Son of God... I don't know, that's hard."

I had enough cheese, crackers, and carrot sticks. But I didn't want to leave. It would have been interesting to hear where the discussion went.

Where did this Jesus come from? What tree produced him? His fruit can seem exotic. We often honor his precepts, but resist his example. It is hard.

The closest synoptic parallels are Matthew 7:15-20 and Luke 6:43-45