The vine and the branches

It’s the fifth Sunday of Easter and today’s gospel comes from John 15: 1-8 on the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ about the vine and the branches. This teaching is very agricultural because during his time Palestine was mostly a desert place, but vineyards were plentiful.

5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 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. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

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The Gospel of John speaks much about the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. In today’s gospel, Jesus says: “I am the Vine. Last Sunday he said: “I am the Good Shepherd.” He also said: “I am the Bread of Life.” Then he declared: “I am the Light of the World.” Then he also said: “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

In Matthew 16: 19, during the confession of Peter, when Jesus asked Simon Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Our Lord was using “I am” in reference to what God told Moses in the burning bush, “I am who am!” He is after all the Son of God!

If you read the Old Testament, you must have come across images of God’s vineyard, in Psalm 80: 8-16, then in Isaiah 5:1-7 where verse 7 reads “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the House of Israel and the men of Judah are his cherished plants.” And finally in Ezekiel 15: 1-6. Go and read these Old Testament passages, which refers to God’s vineyard.

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” There are so many Christians who claim they have Christ in them, yet, a lot of them create their own theology, teaching doctrines anathema to the doctrines and teachings of the Catholic Church, or worse, create their own churches and make their own doctrines. They no longer belong to the same vine as our Lord Jesus Christ.

But if you read this same verse, our Lord gives a warning when he said: “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.” Surely those pastors who were former Catholics and created their own churches must have read this passage, which is very ominous!

At the end of this gospel, Jesus promises: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” You may ask how do we remain as branches in the vineyard of the Lord? A simple answer is, if you have a personal relation with the Lord Jesus Christ, you can remain in his vineyard and be known as his disciple. The question is can we persevere as a disciple of our Lord in this age of so many temptations? The key to perseverance is to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul as yourself!

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