Jesus said, "I am the True Vine"

Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:26-31/1Jn 3:18-24/Jn 15:1-8

In reflecting on the readings for this Sunday, especially taken within the context of the Easter season, they give us a clear picture of discipleship. Not only what is expected of us in the way of word and action, but in the idea that we must be open to transformation.

The readings begin with the story of Saul—the very one who just a few short chapters ago in Acts, was breathing murderous threats against the believers in Christ. Saul has been transformed through His encounter with the Lord on the way to Damascus and now desires to move among the believers. This is the same one who stood as witness to the stoning of Stephen—the first martyr of the faith. Is it no wonder that people are a little cautious? It isn’t until Barnabas takes Saul to Jerusalem to the Apostles that Saul begins to move freely among the Jews, however, the Greeks were another story! Lovers of truth and philosophy—I am sure the Greeks didn’t know what to make of Saul’s claims. What do we do with someone we don’t know what to do with? We silence him! The Hellenists and their desires to kill Saul were no different than today’s society that threatens to silence the Christians who speak truth in a time of turmoil.

How do we effectively preach the word, then, if there is constant fear of being silenced? The first Letter of John tells us how—through our actions. By living the truth in our daily lives, through our joy-filled expression of how life in Christ transforms, and by loving our neighbors as witness to our love of God, we do more to spread the Good News of the Gospel than a thousand sermons. One other thought also struck me when I reflected on this reading—how little we have to worry if we have faith in the Almighty! If we have confidence in God’s goodness and know that He is watching over us—what freedom is ours! If we remain in Him and are open to the Spirit who is our guide, we will never be led astray. That doesn’t mean that life will be without pain or suffering, which leads to the hope of the Gospel message.

John’s Gospel speaks of Jesus as the vine and we, as His children, the branches. God the Father is the vine grower. Any gardener can relate to this metaphor. For many of us, we can go along with the reading until the writer begins discussing pruning and being thrown out if we do not produce good fruit. How can this be? Doesn’t God love everyone? Doesn’t God forgive everyone? It almost sounds in this reading like heaven isn’t an automatic ‘given.’ What is that about? You mean we actually have to believe in this and radically change our lives if we are to know eternal life?

This is where our society’s values and God’s differ. I remember when my children played soccer at the very young ages—the refs never kept score because “it didn’t matter who won.” As they got a bit older, awards ceremonies were done away with in school or modified so that everyone won some kind of award. Outlandish behavior was celebrated as expressing uniqueness, even if it didn’t mesh with healthy standards of living. Heaven forbid we hold up a standard and have children strive for something!

Problem is the kids figured it out pretty quick. They kept their own score and still could distinguish the kids in class who were ambitious versus those who never put forth any effort on their own, but rather, waited for someone else to do their work. The children also developed a sense of right and wrong—which may or may not have complied with the school’s system. What this did was build up confusion and disharmony—all traits that the book of Acts noted were not part of the early communities of faith. When disharmony exists, mistrust breeds. When mistrust is rampant, there is chaos and disorder. These are not traits of a society that uplifts the dignity of the human person, but rather, creates a culture of “every man or woman for themselves.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Even recent issues of Time and Newsweek featured articles on heaven and Jesus which basically trumpeted society’s ability to rethink heaven and come to know Jesus without guidance of the Church He founded, allowing us to name how to get to heaven and place parameters on Jesus. Who needs a god when you can create your own?

This is where pruning is necessary. Those traits that hold us back from being the person God needs and wants us to be must be destroyed or else, we will not be able to flourish as holy men and women of God. A friend of mine often tells this story when we are discussing this very reading:

Gardeners who grow tomato plants know how important it is to remove the suckers from the plants. Suckers look very similar to the tomato branches, with a very slight difference. Both will flower and bear fruit, but if the suckers are not removed, the plant is drained and the harvest is low. If you want your plants to flourish, you must snip off the suckers so the stronger vines receive the proper nutrients so as to bear the biggest and best fruit. Problem is suckers look very much like the other branches. It is only through close scrutiny that you can tell the difference.

Our lives as Christians are like this. Sin can look very tempting—and hey—if I sin just a little, that’s okay, isn’t it? Problem is one little sin, multiplied many times over, drains life from the community. When family life is chaotic due to an abusive member, the whole family suffers. When crime is rampant in a community, the entire society suffers. Pruning means looking at our own lives and eliminating the actions and habits that do not lead us to a life of virtue and holiness. In addition, pruning doesn’t mean excommunicating family or society members, but asking ourselves, “What is love for that person?” and then acting upon it—fraternal correction done in love. Just as Barnabas and the Apostles took Saul under their wings to form Paul, one of the greatest of the evangelizers, we are called as disciples, to walk with those who are growing in faith, standing by them in their challenges, and with love, helping them to grow into the disciple God wills them to be so that they, too, can bear much fruit.

Let us reflect this week on how we can help others, as well as ourselves, to grow strong in the faith so that we, like the early disciples, can bear great fruit and thus, transform our society into one of love and solidarity for God and neighbor!