Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: John 15: 9-11

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the more interesting books I’ve read lately is titled, A Rabbi Talks With Jesus, by Jacob Neusner, an influential Jewish voice in America today.

In his book, Rabbi Neusner imagines himself dialoging with Jesus throughout the Lord’s public ministry as he tries to answer for himself, “Are you the long-awaited Messiah?”

In the end, Neusner follows Jesus to the entrance of Jerusalem, knowing that the Lord is about to be crucified. But he cannot go any further.

Neusner concludes his book with the words, “I wished him well, and I went home.” He sees Jesus as a great moral teacher, but not as the Messiah.

How many of our contemporaries are like him? They’ve heard the heart of the Gospel message, but remain unconvinced of its power to save.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus urges his followers to “remain” in his love. What does that command mean for us, and what impact might it have on others?

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There are two dimensions.

The first is contemplative. The Lord calls his followers to strengthen the inner sanctuary of their own hearts – that place where we dialogue with him, sharing our questions, concerns, doubt, and, yes, love for him.

We must strengthen our own faith while sharing it with others. As the old saying goes, “You cannot give what you do not have.”

That personal intimacy with Christ thrusts us out into the world, showing others who Jesus is by word and deed, revealing what difference he’s made in our own lives.

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If we “remain” with the Lord by studying his Word, praying daily, and nourishing our hearts with the Eucharist, then we will draw others to Christ.

Even people like Rabbi Neusner – people of good will and deep faith, but who long to see an authentic Christian witness.

Try to be that person. As the old saying goes, “Preach always. Only when necessary, use words.”

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Image credits: (1) Road to Emmaus, Fritz von Uhde (2) All Israel News (3) SweetwaterNOW

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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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Today’s Gospel offers two simple lessons in the spiritual life:

Bear fruit, and be pruned.

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The first is the easier of the two: bear fruit. 

Do good in the world. Love. Forgive. Be generous, kind, compassionate, merciful. Follow the teachings of Christ.

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The second is more challenging: be pruned.

Most plants have two types of branches – those that are fruitful and those that are withering.

Withering branches are the dark, limp ones. They must be pruned because they sap energy from the vine while bearing no fruit. It’s a fascinating truth: withering branches take energy to die.

I’m sure we can all find a withering branch or two in our hearts, which must be nipped: a grudge, anger, jealousy, selfishness, a certain temptation, or an unhealthy relationship. Things that sap our energy without giving anything back.

Christ, the Divine Gardener, wants to prune these through prayer and the Sacraments.

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Then there are fruitful branches. Even these must be pruned in order to bear more fruit. Meaning, sometimes we have to give up things that are “good” for things that are “great.”

For example, sometimes we need to trim our social or sports schedules in order to make more time for Mass and personal prayer. 

We may need to cut back on household expenses in order to give more away. 

We may need to nip our appetites to remind ourselves of our deepest hungers.

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Bear fruit. Be pruned.

May Jesus, the Divine Gardener, continue working on our hearts today.

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Image credits: (1) Today Daily Devotional (2) Sword of the Spirit (3) The Artist’s Garden, Claude Monet

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Gospel: Acts 14: 19-28

In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This is the first time in the Acts of the Apostles that we find the idea of suffering as a prerequisite for entering the kingdom of God. 

As a bruised, bloodied, and bandaged Saint Paul says to his brothers in ministry, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

He and Barnabas just concluded their missionary journey throughout Greece and Turkey. Sometimes their words fell upon fertile hearts. Other times, it was as if they stoked the hornet’s nest, provoking outrage and violence.

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As we heard in our first reading, people tried stoning Paul to death before dragging his lifeless body out of town, covering him with a pile of rubble. 

But, once he came to his senses, a bloodied Paul stood up and went right back into the very same town, where he preached the very same message!

His courage and stubbornness moved hearts quicker and deeper than a thousand well-crafted sermons ever could. “After all he just went through, how could this man return to us for more punishment?” Many must’ve wondered. “Unless, of course, his message is true.”

The core of Paul’s message was simple: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures. He was buried, raised from the dead, then he appeared to Peter and the others, and last of all he appeared to me” (1 Cor. 15:1-8).

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Who do you know today who embodies the courage of Saint Paul? Who among us is willing to bear their share of hardship for the sake of the Gospel?

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“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” Paul reminds us.

May his intercession lead all of us to do something for Christ today. 

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Image credits: (1) EB Global (2) TheBostonPilot.com, Public Domain via Flickr (3) Convoy of Hope