Fifth Sunday of Easter

(4/28/2024) Gospel Reading: John 15:1-8

 

“Abide in Me, and I in You”

 

Remain in me as I remain in you, says the Lord.

Whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.

 

From the desk of Fr. Leo Alban Asuncion

     Stephen Curry is the life of the Golden State Warriors basketball team. From him the entire team derives ever new energy, courage and fighting spirit. When he is absent, things begin to fall apart. When he is present, everything clicks. There is teamwork, precision, and a real show of sportsmanship. And they score high. It is the will of the Father that all who are one in Christ bear abundant fruit, that is, enjoy a truly successful Christian life in this world and in the next, both for themselves and all for whom they abhor. But this will require an ever-on-going close union with Christ. His saints must be our arms, his thoughts our thoughts. Abiding in him will constitute a daily and constant battle with the forces that draw away from Christ, the evil influences that try to sever from them source of all holiness.

     That is why the Father “prunes” the branches, as Jesus mentions. He prunes them by cutting off useless attachments or harmful connections that we have thoughtlessly made. Such “pruning” is painful to human nature, and when such are one’s lot, people often ask what they have done to deserve such treatment from God whom they thought they were serving faithfully. How many can see behind the trials, the hand of the Father not punishing them but purifying them, cleansing, detaching them from whatever hinders growth and fruitful union with Christ? Otherwise, the results of one's striving are very mediocre, and they will not bear the abundance of fruit which the Father has in mind.

     Patient suffering is the real test of faith. It is easy to raise the Lord when all things are running smoothly, when one's health is in good condition, and when one is accepted on all sides with respect and in friendship. But let there come into one's life some troublesome sickness, a long-drawn-out misunderstanding in which one's reputation has been marred; then patient long suffering will show up the quality of the branch that is destined to bear much fruit. Here one needs prayer, one's own and those of others, to see the sun behind the dark clouds. St. Therese of the Child Jesus spent the last years of her young life confined in bed on account of a serious case of tuberculosis, but it was those years of patient suffering that gleaned her the harvest of so many souls for heaven. Can we learn from the examples of the saints how to bear abundant fruit?

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Meditation: Why does Jesus speak of himself as the true vine? The image of the vine was a rich one for the Jews since the land of Israel was covered with numerous vineyards. It had religious connotations to it as well. Isaiah spoke of the house of Israel as "the vineyard of the Lord"(Isaiah 5:7). Jeremiah said that God had planted Israel "as his choice vine" (Jeremiah 2:21). While the vine became a symbol of Israel as a nation, it also was used in the Scriptures as a sign of degeneration - a deformed state of spiritual growth and moral decline. Isaiah's prophecy spoke of Israel as a vineyard which "yielded wild grapes" (see Isaiah 5:1-7). Jeremiah said that Israel had become a "degenerate and wild vine" (Jeremiah 2:21).

One must be firmly rooted in the "Tree of Life"
When Jesus calls himself the true vine he makes clear that no one can grow in spiritual fruitfulness and moral goodness unless they are rooted in God and in his life-giving word. Religious affiliation or association with spiritually minded people is not sufficient by itself - one must be firmly rooted in the "Tree of Life" (Revelation 22:1-2, Genesis 2:8-9) who is the eternal Father and his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus makes a claim which only God can make - he is the true source of life that sustains us and makes us fruitful in living the abundant life which God has for us. It is only through Jesus Christ that one can be fully grafted into the true "vineyard of the Lord".

Bearing the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy
Jesus offers true life - the abundant life which comes from God and which results in great fruitfulness. How does the vine become fruitful? The vine dresser must carefully prune the vine before it can bear good fruit. Vines characteristically have two kinds of branches - those which bear fruit and those which don't. The non-bearing branches must be carefully pruned back in order for the vine to conserve its strength for bearing good fruit. Jesus used this image to describe the kind of life he produces in those who are united with him - the fruit of "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Jesus says there can be no fruit in our lives apart from him. The fruit he speaks of here is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).

There is a simple truth here: We are either fruit-bearing or non-fruit-bearing. There is no in-between. But the bearing of healthy fruit requires drastic pruning. The Lord promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in him and allow him to purify us. Do you trust in the Lord's healing and transforming power to give you the abundant life and fruit of his heavenly kingdom?

Lord Jesus, may I be one with you in all that I say and do. Draw me close that I may glorify you and bear fruit for your kingdom. Inflame my heart with your love and remove from it anything that would make me ineffective or unfruitful in loving and serving you as my All.

   read more at: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org

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