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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 every one 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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Everything that is alive requires pruning in order to reach its full potential.
Yet no one wants to be pruned – to be cut off from the vine – even those branches, parts of ourselves, that must go.
God, the “Father-farmer,” in his divine wisdom sees what must be done … and is willing to do it with us and for us.
As Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” But as we all know, growth in life, in our families, in marriage, in this parish, in our faith, requires pruning.
Perhaps the question God is posing to us today is, “What parts of ourselves need to be pruned?”
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Let’s begin with the branches that undoubtedly must go – those that withering.
Withering branches are easy to spot. They’re dark and limp, slowly dying on the vine. They stifle a vine’s growth, demanding energy and nutrients, while giving nothing back, which is why a farmer must prune them.
I find that a fascinating truth: withering branches take energy to die.
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So, what does a withering branch look like in our own lives?
Often, it’s a habit, an emotion, or a relationship formed over time, which slowly drains us without bearing any good fruit.
Imagine nursing a grudge for months, even years. That bitterness would sap your energy without producing anything positive. Slowly, it’d also harden your heart.
Or think of living with an unhealthy habit – perhaps overindulgence in things like eating, drinking, social media, gambling, and so on. These things can cost us time, money, even our health!
These habits don’t give life; they take it.
God, the “Father-farmer” wants to prune these branches out of our lives, allowing us to grow towards our full potential.
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But that’s painful. Anytime we’re faced with being pruned, there’s the temptation to postpone; to enjoy the withering branch a bit longer.
It’s not easy letting go of parts of ourselves, even if they are unhealthy. Perhaps Saint Paul was referring to this idea when he said in his Letter to the Romans:
“What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate… So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
Paul, a man so many rightly admire, also needed to be pruned. Like us, he needed the help of God, his “Father, farmer.”
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What’s the withering branch in my own life – a relationship, a habit, or a memory that I cling to, demanding my time and energy without bearing good fruit?
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Late in the summer months, a farmer will also prune budding branches. Although they’re fruitful, they’re smaller shoots on the vine.
They, too, must go so that the nutrients can be directed to the largest branches, which are bearing the most fruit.
Similarly, there’s no shortage of good ways to spend our time. But we can easily become overextended, doing too much with too little.
Sometimes we need to say, “no,” pruning those smaller shoots in our lives – taking one or two things off of our plate – in order to bear more fruit where it matters most.
Do I feel overextended? Do I need to say, “no” to something, even if it’s something good?
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Jesus concludes this Gospel image of the vine and the branches by saying, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
By “fruit,” the Lord means good works.
The nourishment that we receive from him – through his Word, through prayer, and through this Eucharist – is meant to increase the charity within our lives, making us more and more like Christ, the True Vine.
What “fruit” are we producing as his disciples?
How does our attachment to the vine of Jesus positively influence our role as parent, spouse, friend, minister, or Christian in the world?
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Spring is the time for planting – and pruning.
May God, the “Father-farmer,” take away those withering, and even budding, branches so that we may bear more fruit – thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.
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Image credits: (1) dti-tool.disciplers.org (2) Christiany.com (3) Daily Express