THE TRUE VINE - The fifth Sunday of Easter

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (Jn 15, 1-8).

Last Sunday the Gospel presented Jesus as the good shepherd, the one who gives his life for us because we are like sheep that belong to him. He truly loves us, and he knows each one of us intimately. He wants to help us if we care to listen to his voice and follow him. The mission of the Catholic Church is to teach us how to recognize Christ's voice and how to distinguish it from the voices of those who are mercenaries, not true shepherds, in order not to follow them. He wants us to be one flock, with him as the Good Shepherd.

In today's gospel, Jesus tells us of his love for us when he says that he is the true vine, and we are the branches that, in order to bear fruit, have to remain united to him. St. Paul teaches us: "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." (1 Cor 12: 12-13).

This parable speaks about the union that should exist between us and Jesus, and between each one of us. Jesus told us: "Apart from me you can do nothing", and St. Paul teaches us: "As in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. "(Rom 12: 4-5).

The image of the vine is very interesting. It is not a strong tree like the orange tree or the chestnut tree. These have a strong trunk that holds the weight of branches, leaves, and fruits. The vine does not have a big trunk because it practically consists only of branches, who need some kind of support in order to climb from the ground. If it finds no support, it creeps along the ground and it continues to grow and produce fruit.

Today’s image expresses a very close relationship between it (the vine) and its branches. This relationship is so close that it is beyond relationship. It expresses identification. Indeed, in this parable, Jesus identified himself with us. That is why He insists so much on unity. Today He tells us: “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me”. To abide is to dwell, to take up residence, which is not the same thing as to be a visitor, and much more than to be a friend. The place where you dwell is your home. It is yours. It does not belong to either visitors or friends.

Just before his passion Jesus told the Father: “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17, 20-21). St. Paul wrote: "You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God" (1 Cor 3:23). This is the great gift that we recieve from the infinite love of our Father, through Christ the Son of God and our Lord.

We should remember three things. First: Thomas Aquinus teaches that if Christ is the vine by reason of his human nature, the Father is related to him as vinedresser to vine. Therefore, because he became a man like us in everything except sin, he needed the Father's help, as we do. That is why he was always telling his Father in prayer: "Your will be done!" as He himself taught us to pray in the "Our Father." And in the place called Gethsemane, he prayed: "My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done" (Mt 26, 42). We need to be united in prayer to our Father through Christ so that we can do what he asks us to do.

Second: Where the vine finds an obstacle it creeps on, and it continues to grow. So is the Christian community. When faced with persecution, the Church continues to grow. As Tertullian said, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church" (Apologeticus, 50, p. 13). That is why Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more" (Lk 12: 4). Just before his passion and death, Jesus told his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (Jn 14:27). Let us remember the words of Isaiah the prophet: "Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Is 41, 10). That is why we ask God to make us strong in the faith, notwithstanding our weaknesses.

Third, the vine tells us how vital it is that we be united. Jesus invites us: "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me". The branch that does not bear fruit is useless. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches: "With these words Jesus instructs the hearts of the humble and silences the mouths of the proud, who say that they can do by themselves, without the help of God, the good works of the virtues and of the law. And although they are trying to defend our free will, they really undermined it" (Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, 1993). That is why like the disciples of Emmaus we should invite Jesus: "Stay with us, because it is getting dark and the day is now nearly over." (cfr Lk 29, 28).

Shortly after today's gospel Jesus told his disciples: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends ... because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father" (Jn 15, 12-15).

Let us remember what St. John the Apostle told us: “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action! ... This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us" (1 Jn 3, 18-24).