Lent, Day 21: Even now the ax is at the root of the trees

It is somewhat ironic, I think, that the first (hopefully the only) day I missed in my Lenten blog series is the one I had given the tentative title: Produce fruit or else. John warns his listeners, "every tree that does not bear good fruit is thrown into the fire." Jesus himself says, "No branch can bear by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." And then a few moments later, he says "If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."