Coffee With God

Reflection: John 15:1-8

We begin the reading from chapter 15 of the Gospel of John. It will accompany us until next Monday. In this chapter there is an important word: “remain”. Today the evangelist highlights one of the meanings he gives to this verb: TO ABIDE or to be united to Jesus as the branches to the vine. TO ABIDE in Jesus means a deep communion with Jesus. “I am the true vine…” This is yet another of Jesus’ “I am….” statements in the Gospel. His use of the image of the vine was a common image for God in the Jewish tradition. Jesus tailored the image to suit his purposes and added an extension to it: “… my Father is the landholder – the vine-dresser.” Jesus uses the imagery to explain further the activity of the Father and the vine-dresser’s relationship with the branches: he “cuts off” branches that bear no fruit, while those that bear fruit are “cut clean.” In the foot washing scene [13:10], Jesus had already said of the disciples that they were already cleansed – cut clean with the word that Jesus had spoken. The branch united to life “bears much fruit”, but if separated from the vine, it dries up, it is sterile. Jesus calls on us to maintain that deep relationship with him – Like good friends. The vine is generally not a single branch, but several, and the same sap of the vine nourishes all the branches and keeps them united to the vine and to each other. The united branches express the vitality of the vine. Jesus is the vine, and when we remain united to the Lord and to one another, express the vitality of the Church. It is the Spirit of Jesus that runs through all of us and unites us all. The only reason we come together as a family before the Table of the Lord is that we are in blood-relation! We share the blood of Christ – the life of Christ. When we allow the Word of God to prune and purify our lives, the Word would teach us to appreciate and value others, accept one another with mercy and understanding. These are the fruits we will bear when we remain united to Jesus. Then we can say like St. Paul: “I live, but not I, it is Christ who lives in me”. Our desires determine where we direct our energies and our actions become persistent. Jesus wants us to focus our desires to be conforming to his Word. When we are focussed on communion, love and life in God, “ask for what you want and it will happen.” Do I maintain that deep relationship with Jesus and with my brothers and sisters that allows me to bear fruits of love? How do I express my love to those around me?