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Gospel: John 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 everyone 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Over the last few months, I’ve developed an interest in gardening.
Some of you may have seen me watering the twenty-one trees recently planted on campus. I love watching their progress as the branches reach for the sky and their flowers brightly blossom with pink petals.
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A basic lesson in gardening is that there are two types of branches – those that bear fruit and those that don’t.
We’ve all seen those withering branches. They’re dark, limp, and slow to die. Yet even as they wither, they demand energy from the vine.
It’s a fascinating truth: withering branches take energy to die.
That’s why a gardener is trained to prune them; withering branches sap energy from the vine without bearing any fruit.
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In the Gospel, Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit.”
God wants to prune all those withering branches from our lives that sap our time and energy without bearing fruit.
Consider unhealthy habits, destructive relationships, or lingering grudges. Although these “branches” drain our energy, they can be hard to let go of.
We need the Lord to do the pruning.
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What are the withering branches in my life? Where do I spend time or energy without bearing fruit?
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May the Lord, the Divine Gardener, prune our hearts, making us happier, healthier people.
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Image credits: (1) The San Diego Union – Tribune (2) Grow Organic (3) Silver Oak Cellars