April 28, 2024 Fifth Sunday of Easter

Welcome Father Bernward Today’s Readings: Acts 9:26-31 | 1 Jn 3:18-24 | Jn 15:1-8

Today’s Gospel is part of the last discourse of Jesus delivered to the disciples at the Last Supper was a form of farewell address delivered on the eve of his death. Its purpose was to console and strengthen them to face the ordeals of the coming days. He told them not to be troubled in their heart but to trust in God. Today’s passage describes the intimate union that must exist between Jesus and his followers, under the image of vine and its branches. His Father is the vinedresser who will encourage the good branches and cut off the useless ones. The fruit produced by the vine and the branches, by Christ and his followers, will be to God’s eternal glory. The image of a vine or the vineyard to represent the chosen people of God was often used in the Old Testament. Israel was pictured as the vineyard of the Lord and the Jews as the branches of God’s vine. The coins of the Maccabees had the symbol of vine and the Temple had the golden vine carved in front of the Holy Place. Now Jesus says that he and his followers will form the new chosen people. Once again Jesus uses the agricultural symbolism to express the divine mutuality that exists between the Father Son and the Disciples.

The first part of the passage stresses the necessity of remaining or abiding in Jesus. The Lord invites us to abide in him, and he will do so again several times during his discourse. This shows us how important it is to remain with him. Indeed, if we pay close attention to all the words of the Lord, we will soon note that Jesus insists on precisely this point: He will not abide in us unless we first abide in him. Jesus says: “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” Therefore it is absolutely necessary for the disciples to abide in Jesus. Those who do not abide in him will not be able to sustain life or bear fruit and therefore they will be cut off. The disciples however have been put in an ideal situation because they have been pruned by hearing the Word of God so that they are prepared to bear even more fruit. Discipleship is not an individual enterprise carried out in isolation. Key for understanding the discipleship is to remember Jesus is the vine and the disciples are the branches. Comparing Himself to the true vine that gives life to the branches, Jesus states that the Heavenly Father is the vine grower.

The second part of the passage emphasizes what happens to those who abide in Jesus as well as those who do not. The goal of discipleship is not just simple relationship in itself. The real goal is the fruit that such a relationship produces. For discipleship to bear fruit there must be mutual abiding between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus tells them that if they abide in him and his words abide in them, they could ask whatever they wanted, and it shall be done for them. This is a very powerful statement that gives us a clue as to how we must pray. If we pray to God and expect to receive a positive response, then we should shine in the fruit of the Spirit. By obeying God, by abiding in Jesus and Jesus in us, we have the assurance that God the Father will hear and answer our prayers that will spiritually benefit us and others.

Those disciples who do not abide in Jesus cut themselves off from their source of life. They will be like the branches which wither and die as they are not attached to the vine. At the same time, it is not enough to be an ordinary branch on the tree. It also must produce much fruit. It is not just enough to be a Christian and fulfil one’s religious duties and Sunday obligations. A Christian should be one who follows the commands of Jesus to love his neighbour. Jesus insists that if they persevere in their sinful attitudes and fail in their duty as the followers of Christ, they will be cut off from the life giving vine, Jesus himself. This renders them useless for anything other than for being thrown into the fire and burnt. On the other hand those disciples who remain in Jesus and have an intimate union with him, then whatever they ask of the Father will be done for them.

Jesus speaks to us today of his Father and of his activity in the world. That is his mission among us: to reveal to us who the Father is, to tell us what he does and what he intends to do in response to our actions. As we celebrate the Eucharist today and live the word of God, we ask the grace that we may overcome the allurements of the world and remain united with Jesus the true vine. The Gospel tells us today that our relationship to Jesus is similar to a tree and its branches. The branch cannot be separated from the parent tree and continue to live independently. Christ has promised to remain with us during our life only if we remain close to him. If we walk in the fruit of the Spirit, our spiritual life does not condemn us. If our spiritual life in Christ does not condemn us, we can stand boldly before God, and ask him for anything and we will receive them generously. God’s command is that we believe in Jesus and in him love one another.

Source: Shortened from https://msjnov.wordpress.com/2024/04/21/fifth-sunday-of-easter-april-28-2024/ Image: Eastern Orthodox icon of Jesus Christ as the True Vine