Happy
Sunday!
(Acts 9, 26-31; 1 John 3, 18-24; John 15,1-8: 5th Sunday of Easter, 2nd May, 2021)
Today the liturgy makes us listen to the Gospel
passage of the true vine. Jesus presents himself as the true vine,
and invites us to remain united with him to bear much fruit. In the first
reading we see that Paul, just converted, has borne fruit, because he preached
with courage and spoke openly in the name of Jesus. The second reading is also
linked to the Gospel, because it says that we must love not in words or
only in speech, but with deeds. This love is really bearing fruit.
In the Gospel, Jesus presents himself as the true vine. With a severe admonition, he immediately, raises the problem of the fruits to bear: Every branch that does not bear fruit in me [the Father] cuts away. We must accept this warning, because it stimulates us to live the Christian life fully and have profound joy in ourselves. We are branches of the Lord's vine and, to remain in him, we must bear fruit. Otherwise the Father is forced to send us away. In fact, he cannot tolerate a member of Christ not bearing fruit. Therefore, we must live a true Christian life; we cannot only be labeled Christians, but must also really live an interior and also exterior life, in conformity with Christ’s teaching. Then Jesus says: Every branch that bears fruit [the Father] prunes so that it bears more fruit. Here we refer to the trials in the Christian life, which are necessary realities, and have positive meaning: they are the condition for greater fruitfulness. All saints have gone through multiple trials. They received them not only with resignation, but with gratitude. In fact, they were united in this way with the paschal mystery of Jesus, and, therefore, could bear more fruits for the glory of God and the good of many people. Jesus reveals to us what the condition for bearing fruit is: Abide in me and I in you. It is clear that a branch cannot bear fruit alone, but it needs the vine. If it doesn't stay in the vine, it dries up and is thrown away. Likewise, the essential condition for bearing fruit in the Christian life is that we remain in Christ and Christ remain in us. The Eucharist we receive unites Christ with us and us with Christ, thus giving us the capacity to bear fruit. Without it, the Christian life can hardly be fruitful, because this strong union with Christ was lacking. The branch must receive the sap from the vine, and thus it can bear fruit; otherwise it remains sterile. Jesus says: I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him, bears much fruit. For us it is a reason of great joy to know that, thanks to our union with Jesus, our life is truly fruitful. How? What is the fruit we must bear? Jesus does not specify it here, but we can understand it from other passages of the Gospel of John and the New Testament: the main fruit that the branches united to the vine must bear is love. We do not deal with words or with the tongue only, but with facts and in truth, John tells us in his First Letter. This is truly the fruit that the life of Jesus produces in us. Jesus’ life is a life of love and, when it comes into us, it pushes us to love the Father with all our heart, with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as he loved us, that is, not in words or with the tongue, but with facts and in truth. In the same way Paul tells us that what counts is the faith that works through love (cf. Gal 5, 6). Faith unites us to Jesus, makes Jesus live in us and us in him, and produces a life of love. If there is no life of love, it means that our faith is not authentic, but it is a dead faith, as James explains (cf. James 2,17). Jesus then says in the Gospel: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for what you want and it will be given to you. This is also one way we produce fruit. The fruitfulness of our life depends on our prayer, and we can be confident that if we pray, we will be heard. Our fruit, in fact, is the work of Jesus through us. Therefore, we must ask him for his grace, and then welcome it, to carry out his work with him. Jesus was united with the Father, he did the Father's work with the Father. In the Gospel of John he affirms: The Father who is in me does his works. Believe me: I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If nothing else, believe it for the works themselves (cf. John 14, l0-15). The Father shows the Son everything he does so that the Son can do all his work with him (cf. John 5, 19-20). Our doing his work with Jesus is the effective realisation of love. Usually our human love is fruitful; divine love is even more so. It is fruitful with good works, truly useful works, which illuminate and make all life beautiful. Similarly, John writes in his First Letter: Whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing to him. If we are faithful in observing God's will, which is the will of love, we can ask God for many things. Obviously, these are things that go in the sense of love, and not selfishness. Indeed, it would be a contradiction to ask the Lord to help our selfishness oppress our spiritual life. Instead, if we do what is pleasing to God, we can ask him for many things and have the joy of receiving them from him. John states: This is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another, according to the precept he has given us. Here John shows us a double commandment: faith and love. The commandment is twofold, because love is not possible without union with Jesus in faith and, on the other hand, faith is not authentic without love lived in union with Jesus.
Faith and love are, intimately, linked together. With
faith we remain in Jesus and Jesus remains in us. Paul affirms: This
life that I live in the flesh [earthly existence], I live in the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me (Gal 2,20). Our
faith is a faith in a person who is full of love for us; it puts us in contact
with him and he bestows that strength to love that allows us to transform our
lives first, and then those of others around us. Believing and loving,
remaining in Jesus through faith and bearing fruit through love, these are the
characteristics of the Christian life. The Christian life is a splendid life,
which spreads happiness close to itself, a luminous, generous life. When we
approach Communion, we make a great act of faith; and from Communion we receive
all the strength to love. Let us therefore, live this double commandment of
faith and love with an attitude of gratitude, in order to be able to have full
joy within us. +John
I. Okoye
(graphics by chukwubike)
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