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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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Someone once said, “People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.”
There are really only a handful of life-lessons that we need to learn in order to be considered good people – and by extension, good Christians.
For example:
Honesty is the best policy.
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Good manners go a long way.
You don’t always get what you want.
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In today’s Gospel, the Lord reminds us about a Christian truth, which he taught us in last Sunday’s Gospel:
“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.”
God, the “Father-Farmer” looks for two particular types of branches in our lives, which he prunes in order to make us more and more like Christ.
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First, the withering branches.
Withering branches are easy to spot; they’re the dark and limp ones, slowly dying on the vine. A farmer must prune them, because they demand energy and nutrients from the vine, even while bearing no fruit.
It’s a fascinating truth: withering branches take energy to die.
So, what are examples of withering branches in our own lives? Bad habits, negative emotions, and unhealthy relationships – people or things that drain our energy without doing anything good.
God wants to prune these through prayer and the Sacraments.
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Secondly, there are the budding branches. They’re smaller in comparison to the largest branches. Late in the summer, even these must go so that the biggest branches bear more fruit.
Similarly, there’s no shortage of good ways to spend our time. But sometimes we can get overextended, which is why have to learn the art of saying, “no.”
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What’s the withering branch, or even the budding branch, that God wants to prune in my life?
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May we give God the “Father-farmer” full access to our hearts so that we may bear fruit thirty, sixty, and one-hundred fold.
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Image credits: (1) Lift Worship (2) FINsme’s (3) Family Missions Company
