ABIDING IN THE TRUE VINE (FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B) -2024
ABIDING IN THE TRUE VINE
Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, he has revealed and become the source of life and indeed eternal life to all. He is the True Vine and we are the branches. For us to bear fruit and flourish, we the branches must in him abide and remain because it is only in him that life is found. Through him alone does the water that nourishes us flow. He tells us that he is the way, the truth, and the Life. Therefore, in this Sunday’s Gospel from John 15, Jesus tells us that we cannot be fruitful by our strength. Why? Because our fruitfulness does not come from us but from the one who is life and the source of all that is good. Hence, Jesus says, “Cut off from me you can do nothing”. So, if you want your life to be very fruitful in proportion to the grace being given to you by God, then abiding in the True Vine is the answer.
But how can we remain or abide in the True Vine? Jesus tells us that it is by keeping his words and by allowing his words to remain in us. I suppose the question would be, has God’s word found a home in us? Or rather, have we found a home in God’s word? Make no mistakes child of God, every fruitfulness passes away but the fruitfulness of abiding in God’s word in obedience is eternal and leads to life.
However, this process of abiding by God’s word in obedience has never been easy and will not be easy today. It can often bring pain and restlessness. Yet, it is the only path to true fruitfulness. That’s why Jesus considers this process very pruning, and purifying and said, “You are pruned already by means of the words that I have spoken to you”. Some translations would say, “You have already been made clean by the words that I have spoken to you”. It is in obedience to God's word that we strip ourselves of the cloak of hypocrisy and are purified to bear healthy and life-giving fruits which flow from obedience to God’s word.
By our obedience to God’s words, as it were, we deliberately plug ourselves into the source that makes every aspect of our lives, life-giving. Unfortunately, if the devil succeeds in keeping us active and engaged with many pious activities that we take for granted obedience to God’s word, he would have succeeded in making us unfruitful no matter how famous, loved and admired you might be.
Therefore, child of God, let us abide in Jesus, the True Vine by making a home for his words in our hearts and making his word our home, so that we may continue to experience true fruitfulness that leads to eternal life.
Let us pray.
Eternal Father of Life, we pray for the grace of patient endurance and trust in the purifying process of obedience to God’s word. We make our prayers through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen