Gospel Reflections
“I am the vine.” What does this mean?
What does the vine and branches analogy mean?
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Jesus says in the gospel: I am the vine, you are the branches, remain in me. This image of the vine is an ancient one. It even goes back to before the time of Jesus. The prophets would call Israel the vine of God. Grapevines were something the people knew. It was a down-to-earth kind of image. But, for us, maybe it seems a bit more removed. Not everyone is an expert in grapevines anymore. But, the analogy is easy to pick up. Christ is the vine. He is the source. All energy and life flow out from him.
Why does Jesus say we are branches?
If we want to be filled with the joy of being his disciple, it is necessary for us to be connected to him. The word he uses over and again in this passage is “remain.” So, a good question to ask ourselves is: what kind of branch am I? Do I feel like a green and tender branch that is filled with the life and spirit of God? Or, do I feel like a dried out old cracked branch that is good for nothing but burning? Somewhere in between? The formula is simple: remain in me. But, the challenge is to make it happen. The life of faith has to have concrete expression, or it won’t happen at all.
Three ways to follow Jesus’ words of “Remain in Me”
Every day, we face changes, some which can change our lives. We face have many things that could cause us stress and anxiety. No matter who you are, our lives are much the same. We have so much in our lives that can cause us difficulty. So, here are three little steps for growing your life of prayer. These three steps are a good way to put “remain in me” into action in our daily lives.
Daily Prayer – How to Pray Daily
Step one is daily prayer. If we don’t talk to God every day, it’s really tough to be connected to him. If we don’t communicate with God, it’s really hard to be his friend, let alone his disciple. We should never let a day go by without prayer. But, for many people, we don’t really know how to pray. It’s not overly complicated. Prayer is different for each person, because prayer is personal. Prayer is a conversation with God. Prayer is living with God. So, if you want God’s life and love to flow through you, make sure you pray every day.
Second step is worshipping God at Mass, especially on Sunday. How many of us know a friend or family member that has decided they don’t need to go to Mass? Most of us. The sad thing about missing out on Mass, especially Sunday Mass, is that Mass is precisely the place where we can connect with Christ in a tangible concrete way. The Holy Eucharist is Christ. He remains in us when we come to church for prayer. People might say: I can pray in the woods. That’s great. But, do you? When was the last time you prayed in the woods? Making Sunday Mass a priority is important because it gives us a concrete chance to connect with God in a public and concrete way. So, if you know of someone away from Mass, you might just share with them that Mass is a great way to connect with Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches.
Third step to fulfill regular prayer is to frequent the sacrament of confession. We get all dried out as branches because of our sinfulness. The best way to restore the life and love of God within us is to go to confession. Confession recognizes that sometimes we wander away from Christ. Sin is when we do not “remain” in him. But, by going to confession, we connect ourselves with the vine once again. Our sins are forgiven and we are filled once again with his life.
So, what kind of branch are you? Where is your life of faith right now? If it’s great, that is wonderful. Keep remaining in Christ and stay connected to him. If it’s not great, no better time than now to turn back and reconnect with Christ. Pray every day. Worship God at Mass. Go to confession. These are wonderful ways to stay connected to Christ.
What does Christ expect from us?
Christ wants us to bear fruit. Sometimes we can get just a little bit self-centered and think that the spiritual life is all about our connection to Christ for our own sake. But, that forgets that Christ wants us to carry out his works in the world. If we are not bearing fruit, then what are we doing? At the end of our lives, each of us will be asked that question: did you bear great fruit? We connect with Christ each Sunday when we go to church. He remains in us and we in him. But, then as we leave this Holy Mass, don’t forget to go and bear fruit.
Bear much fruit and become my disciples. Jesus has big plans for us. He wants us to carry out his mission in the world. He came to bring us good news, to heal the sick, to lift up the fallen. And, he wants to continue his saving ministry, but now he does it through us, his disciples, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is good to remember that Jesus has work for us to do. He wants us to bear fruit.
But, one thing is for sure, we are always busy. Consider the busy life of modern parenting: wake up early, get the kids up, cleaned up, dressed, fed. Make them lunch. Get them to school. Take them to the doctor. Pick them up from school. Take them to practice. Wait in the car. Sit in the rain and watch them play soccer. Wait in the car some more. Help them with homework. Make sure they eat properly. Get them to bed on time. On and on. It seems like we just keep getting busier and busier.
So, when we hear Jesus say: bear much fruit. It sounds like we need to add even more to our busy lives. But, I think it is important to remember that our life of faith never competes with our daily lives. We don’t have to choose between loving God or loving our families. Rather, we should see these things as being beautifully united. Have you ever thought of waiting in your car for your kids as an act of prayer? Or simply being kind and respectful at the grocery store or while driving can be an act of discipleship of Jesus. How can we see everything in our daily lives as an act of love or prayer?
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
This little line really holds the key to the life of discipleship as we go about our busy lives. It is certainly true that Christ calls us to bear much fruit, that we are called to lives of active discipleship. But, if we don’t remain in him, we will lose our focus. Staying connected to Christ is the only way to be sure we are doing everything for him and with him. Being a disciple does not compete with our daily lives, but it gives our lives meaning and direction. Staying connected to Christ is the key to discipleship.
There is no better way to stay connected to Christ than through the sacraments. Jesus gave us these gifts as his abiding presence among us. By the power of the sacraments we stay connected to Christ and he lives within us.
A priest once asked the children preparing to receive Holy Communion: “what do all 7 sacraments have in common?” One child responded: “Jesus.” What a perfect answer! Through the power of the sacraments we get in touch with Jesus. Through the power of the sacraments, we remain in Jesus, we stay connected to him. This is how we find the power to bear much fruit for him in our daily lives.
So, think again about the power of these sacraments. Especially consider the sacraments of confession and Eucharist. If it has been a while since you’ve made a confession, plan on going in the next week. Ask Christ to forgive your sins and grow closer to him through that sacrament. Make a commitment to grow closer to Christ in the powerful prayer of the Holy Eucharist. There is no better way to stay connected to Christ than to receive him in this sacred mystery. Maybe even consider attending Mass during the week.
Jesus has great plans for us, whether these plans include taking care of your kids, being kind to others, or giving of your time, talent, and treasure for the building up of God’s kingdom. He wants us all to bear great fruit. But, as Jesus says today: without me you can do nothing. Here at this mass, and through the power of all the sacraments, we are here with Jesus. And through this powerful connection with Christ we can go out from this mass and bear great fruit.
A seminarian once received a care package the other day from a school in the diocese. Inside this package there were some handmade cards from the school children. One of these cards had a line dividing the front in two. On one half of the card there was a beautiful grape vine that was lush and green with leaves and large clusters of grapes. The other side was not so good, it was drawn with a gray marker, there was no green, no leaves, and no grapes. There was a caption on both sides. The left side said, “with God and prayer”. The right side said “without God and following the devil”. What wisdom children have!
What responsibility do Christians have?
Did you ever stop to think about the Christian message? In the popular presentation of the faith emphasis is always placed on difficult truths of the faith, and there are many: Christianity is a life of sacrifice, suffering, and difficulty at times. We would never deny this! Christianity is a life of imitation of Jesus, who sacrificed himself for the good of the world. Christians therefore must deny themselves, take up the cross and follow after Christ.
There can be no Christianity without the Cross. But if we simply acknowledge the difficulties of Christianity we might forget why we carry these crosses in the first place. Jesus says today in the gospel: whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
This is the simple truth of Christianity: without Christ we can do nothing, without him there is no joy, no hope, no blessedness. Without Christ we are dead branches, there is no fruit without Christ. But with him there is joy, love, peace, communion. Sure, Christianity includes sacrifice, self-denial, suffering, and the cross.
But, as St. Paul said, we must consider these things as nothing when we behold the glory that awaits. Truly, following God means life and fruitfulness, not following God and being with the devil means death and barrenness.
St. John tells us what this looks: “Children let us love not in word and speech, but in deed and truth”. Wow, that really tells it like it is: if we want to be at peace, if we want to have joy and fruitfulness, if we want a life of Christian happiness, the path is one of love, not simply in what we say, but in how we live.
Now this might be a bit daunting: this gets us back to that cross: if it were easy to love in deed and in truth we wouldn’t need this command would we? But, it can be difficult to love, to lay our lives down for others, to sacrifice and to overcome temptation. We know our sins make us miserable, we know that following God makes us healthy and happy; but, how do we overcome those sins?
What does “you are the branches” mean?
Think again about the vine analogy. Jesus is the vine we are the branches. When we stay connected with Jesus his life flows through us, and when his life flows through us so does his strength and goodness. When the love of Christ flows through us we become loving, when the goodness of Christ flows through us we become good and holy. If we are not attached to Christ we wither and die, but attached to him we grow and thrive. This happens for me no more powerfully than in this Holy Eucharist.
When we receive Communion the life of Christ flows into us. We are no more fully united to Jesus than at this altar. When we are in the presence of Christ, we are in the presence of the vine and we find in him life, goodness, truth, strength, and joy. Christianity includes sacrifice, suffering, and self-denial, but there is no other way to peace, joy, life, and fruitfulness. Indeed there are only 2 choices: being with God, which gives us life and joy; not following God and being with the devil which causes us pain, sadness, barrenness and leads to emptiness and death. When considered in this way, there is only one choice: whoever remains in me and I in you will bear much fruit, because without me, Jesus says, you can do nothing.
I Am the Vine Gospel Reading
Jn 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
About the Author
Father Jake Runyon is a priest in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend where he serves as the Rector and Pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. This post was originally published on his personal blog Docete and is shared here with permission.