John 15:1 – 8
Last Sunday, we heard Jesus speak of himself as the Good Shepherd. He used that image against the Jewish leaders, whom he, by inference, characterized as bad shepherds, mere hirelings who are in it for themselves. He, on the other hand, was the Good Shepherd who “lays down his life for his sheep.” This is the only occasion in the Gospel of John where Jesus uses a human image as an analogy for himself.
This Sunday, we hear Jesus speak of himself in one of the other images – as the true vine. And, whereas last Sunday’s passage recounted a portion of Jesus’ discourse against the Jewish leaders during his last visit to Jerusalem and its environs before his crucifixion and Resurrection, this Sunday we hear him speaking to his apostles at the Last Supper, assuring them that, if they remain in him, they will bear good fruit. Both images – a shepherd and a vine or vineyard – are one with which the people of ancient Israel could easily identify. Just as most Israelite families had sheep, or at least had relatives who had sheep, most Israelite families had vineyards. And, in those days, wine was not a luxury but a necessity. They did not have water treatment plants so they would drink wine rather than take the chance of getting sick from impure water.
As I mentioned a moment ago, this Sunday’s Gospel is a portion of Jesus’ address to the apostles at the Last Supper as presented in John’s Gospel – the well-known Last Supper Discourse. It is part of Jesus’ presentation on the union of Jesus with his disciples. His words become a monologue and go beyond the immediate crisis of the departure of Jesus. As you will see in your footnotes, the section we will hear on Sunday, resembles a parable. It also has some characteristics of an allegory since all the players have symbolic roles to play. Jesus identifies himself as the true vine and his heavenly Father as the vine grower. This imagery is very familiar to the ancient Israelite. Israel is spoken of as a vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 21:33-46 and as a vine in Psalm 80:9-17; Jer 2:21; Ezekial 15:1-8; 17:1-10; 19:10; Hosea 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Psalm 80:16 and Wisdom’s description of herself as a vine in Sirach 24:17 are further background for Jesus portraying himself with this image. There may also be secondary Eucharistic symbolism here; cf. Mark 14:25 “the fruit of the vine.” The figure of the vine and the branches presents so clearly that the Christian life is essentially one of activity, of fruitful behavior that results from remaining attached to the vine and being pruned by the vinegrower.
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
2 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
Takes away . . . prunes: in Greek there is a play on two related verbs. In the time of Jesus, the branch that was taken away could have referred to Judas. At the time of the writing of this Gospel, it could have spoken of the Jews who had rejected Jesus, the true vine. For us, it speaks of those who reject God’s plan for them and so, bear no fruit but wither and die in anger or rebellion.
3 You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Word: not the usual “word” that John’s Gospel is famous for, but all of the teachings of the Lord, which lead to eternal life. That’s why it is so important to continue to listen to Jesus’ teachings; they speak to us differently every time we hear them because of our current circumstances.
4 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.
Remain: this word, in Greek – μένειν – is better translated as “abide.” It appears 10 times in this pericope and speaks of mutual indwelling and continuous union with Jesus. Those who remain connected to the vine are sustained and nourished; those who do not remain on the vine wither and die and are useless except as fire wood. This is powerful imagery that even we can understand.
a branch cannot bear fruit on its own: This was the sin of Adam and Eve; the sin many of us struggle with. We try to live life on our own, thinking we know better than God. We do well to listen to the next verse.
5 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.
6 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.
Branch: Branches were cut off and dried on the wall of the vineyard for later use as fuel; a pretty sad end.
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
8 By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
Union with Christ is not only the condition of bearing fruit, it also demands this. Pruning is painful but it gives us the opportunity to ask how we can use this to grow even closer to God. The difference between a person who is “cut off” and a person who is “pruned” is that the person who is cut off sees the struggles in life as a punishment or rejection from God while a person who is pruned asks: “Lord, how can I use this event to prune my desires so that I can bear even more fruit to your glory?”
Acts 9:26 – 31
On Sunday, we will hear the beginning of Paul’s ministry after his conversion. Whereas the first few chapters of the Acts of the Apostles focuses on the early Christian community and Peter, from now on, the Acts shifts its attention to Paul. As you know, Luke followed up his Gospel with a second volume – the Acts of the Apostles – to indicate that the work that Jesus started was being legitimately continued by the apostles and to illustrate that the same Holy Spirit who had empowered Jesus’ efforts was inspiring and empowering the Church. Luke also made it a point to feature the Church in Jerusalem as the central base of the early Church’s ministry and the Twelve as its authoritative leaders. You will notice that in his Gospel, Luke traced Jesus’ ministry to its climax with his death, resurrection and ascension in and near Jerusalem. In Acts, Luke traces the mission of the Church from Jerusalem to the rest of the then-known world.
In this Sunday’s first reading, we hear about Paul’s first trip to Jerusalem and the initial response of the Christian community there. It was very understandable that they would fear him since he had been so hard at work eradicating them. Before reading from Acts, let’s read Gal 1:11-2:3; we’ll notice some interesting discrepancy in timing and who Paul encounters in Jerusalem. And, to understand Sunday’s reading better, let’s begin with Acts 9:19b:
Now, let’s examine what we will hear on Sunday:
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
he arrived in Jerusalem: This visit of Paul to Jerusalem is mentioned by Paul in Gal 1:18. It is the first of six visits that Acts mentions that Paul makes to Jerusalem. As I mentioned earlier, for Luke, these visits confirm the centrality of Jerusalem for the Christian faithful.
27 Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how on the way he had seen the Lord and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
Barnabas: the mediator between the former persecutor of the Church and the apostolic college. Curiously, Acts makes no mention of the issue that is discussed in Galatians 2:1-5.
28 He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
29 He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him.
Hellenists: see the note on Acts 6:1-7. These are clearly Jews, most likely those who only spoke Greek.
30 And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus.
31 The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
The church was at peace: In the context of the period of peace enjoyed by the community through the cessation of Paul’s activities against it, Luke introduces two traditions concerning the miraculous power exercised by Peter as he was making a tour of places where the Christian message had already been preached. The towns of Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa were populated by both Jews and Gentiles and their Christian communities may well have been mixed.
1 John 3:18 – 24
We hear again from John’s first letter to the Christian communities in the provinces of Asia Minor. This is not usually the case in Ordinary Time, but often the case during Christmas and Easter Season that the second reading presents a theme similar to the first reading and the gospel. Here, we see that it does: the theme is that faith in Jesus leads to action.
18 Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.
not in word or speech but in deed and truth: again, we see that the Christian response in love is not a matter of words but activity.
19 (Now) this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him
this is how: Living a life of faith in Jesus and of Christian love assures us of abiding in God no matter what our feelings may at times tell us. Our obedience gives us confidence in prayer and trust in God’s judgment. This obedience includes our belief in Christ and love for one another.
reassure our hearts before him… if our hearts condemn us: This difficult passage may also be translated “we shall be at peace before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for . . .” or “and before God we shall convince our hearts, if our hearts condemn us, that God is greater than our hearts.”
20 in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
21 Beloved, if (our) hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God
22 and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.
24 Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.
All three readings emphasize the strength and vitality of the early Christian community – nourished by Jesus, the vine that gives us all strength. Notice how the Christians show who they are – by bold proclamation of the Gospel and living the life of faith. That is what we are called to do as well! Like the apostles in today’s Gospel, we are called to bear fruit, that is, to love as Jesus loved, forgive as he did, all as disciples of the God who loves us.