This is so in line with the way Jesus taught throughout His ministry, taking everyday items as analogies for Kingdom truths. Now to the most important point. The point is: there is such interconnectedness that while we are doing the work, Jesus is doing the work in us as well. Without union with Christ, our life would be barren, void, futile and meaningless. He also, by his work as Mediator, gives life to the world John 6:33, and it is by the same grace and agency that it is continued in the Christian. A few hours after He finishes these words, He is arrested, tried, and crucified. (a) I make, manufacture, construct, (b) I do, act, cause. Let us then struggle daily out of love and for love to put into practice the means to be more united with Christ, especially in the Eucharist: BE A EUCHARISTIC SOUL! I feel humbled and very much look forward to being of service to His Holiness and the Church., He added: A great deal has been achieved in England and Wales in recent years by many co-workers to advance Biblical scholarship and the provision of easy-to-use resources. John 15:5-10New International Version. Pax et bonum! Then be still for a few moments. Many of us are urbanites, having left the life of the farm. You and I are instruments of Our Lord to bring souls closer to Him not only through our prayers, but also through our words, our good example and real friendship with the people He has placed beside us, with all the naturalness and while fulfilling our human obligations in the ordinary conditions of our life. I. Our whole life is dependent on staying connected to Him, remaining in Him (see1 Corinthians 12:12-27). "I am the vine, you are the branches. 4 Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. It was a false vine. By these earthy things we learn how precious and loved we are, in body as well as soul. If we dont remain in Jesus, we are just remaining somewhere elsein anxiety, in anger, in fear, in shame, in ambition, in numbness, in self-absorption. By receiving the Holy Spirit, Who is the bond of union between us and Christ our Saviour, those who are joined to Him, as branches are to a vine, share in His own nature. 2 Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. "I AM THE TRUE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES." 5th SUNDAY OF EASTER (B): "I AM THE TRUE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES." Being a Christian is equivalent to being called to bear fruits of holiness. , activity of the Christian life in general is meant, , Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. Let that sink in. What was going on inJohn 15when He spoke these words? Jesus believed that we could; otherwise, He would have never asked us to. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear of Pauls attempts to join the Christian community after his conversion. Our whole life is dependent on staying connected to Him, remaining in Him (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Gratitude:One of the surest ways to learn to stay at home with Jesus is to practice gratitude. We are not the only stewards of Gods creation. Use these categories, each for a few minutes, to notice things: give thanks for what you have seen, then what you have heard, then what you have touched with your hands, then what places your feet have taken you, and finally what your heart has loved. Stillness:Try to sit in silence for 5-10 minutes each day. In fact, the grapevine is mentioned more often than any other plant in the entire Bible. Such is the relationship between Christians and Jesus. - John 15:5 Amid all the unknowns of today's. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. The other place in the New Testament that describes something parallel to remaining in Jesus is Pauls letters. Now to the most important point. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. Through these earthy things the grace of loving Pesence materializes. 3. that the reason why others fail of being holy is because they are unwilling to look to him, and seek grace and strength from him who alone is able to give it. HOMILY FOR THE 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR A. EASTER SUNDAY 2023 URBI ET ORBI. All 2. ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO HOLINESS AND APOSTOLATE. And. #2 you are the branches. Christians are grafted into the tree because the Jews were cut off, or pruned, for a time (Ro 11:33-36). A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. I am the vine, you are the branches. "I am the True Vine" ( John 15:1) is the last of seven "I am" declarations of Jesus recorded only in John's Gospel. Jesus explains the imagery right from the start. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. There are a number of Old Testament references that speak of Israel being a vine, planted and tended by God. Bill Delvaux is a graduate of Duke University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. To even add more shape to the idea, Paul uses another metaphor. When someone is nearing death, what do they talk about? Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. For the Christian, it is not necessary to learn one by one to display each fruit of the Spirit, merely abiding in Christ will cause us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt 22:37-38). Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. We see hence: 1. that to him is due all the praise for all the good works the Christian performs. John 9:33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. Abide in me even as I abide in you. The Vine and the Branches. It will change you. For without me ye can do nothing.Better, separate from Me, or, apart from Me. New International Version (NIV). It gets its stability and strength, its nourishment, its life from the tree; and it in return gives its life-giving photosynthesized energy back to the tree. 1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? Ask yourself, Where was I remaining today? Then talk to Jesus about your desire to remain more in Him. I am the vine, you are the branches: He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. John 14-17is often calledthe Last SupperDiscourse because it was His last time of teaching with the twelve disciples. (Comp., e.g., Romans 2:14-15, Notes.). I am the vine; you are the branches. and every breeze that makes the meadows sing. A branch, shoot, twig. Bill can be reached at landmarkjourney@gmail.com. Thirdly, we have here the union with Christ as the condition of satisfied desires. After explaining to his disciples how his Father is the gardener that prunes each branch so that it can bear more fruit, Jesus urges them to stay grafted in. The Old Testament allusions make it fairly clear that this was a grapevine, often used for making wine. Its his catchword, a simple two-word expression continuously repeated without apology: in Christ. This means, primarily that Christ exists, and in existing, has the qualities of his Father. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5. Being with Him is like being at home on your favorite couch. All rights reserved. What struck me about this metaphor today is that humans often get it mixed up with the metaphor of family trees and take bearing fruit to mean having children, and how some denominations still seem to see this as the primary function of Christians (especially women). Its a simple but rich image. John 15:5. 10:00am, I am the vine; you are the branches. Properly, apart from me. Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. The Vine and the Branches. From kai and ego; so also the dative case kamoi, and accusative case kame and I, me. John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. It would be unthinkable to suggest that a branch has an identity apart from the tree from which it grows. In John 15 Jesus uses the relationship of branches to the vine to illustrate our relationship to Him: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. But there is even more here in this short statement. Yet with all the horror facing Him, He still wants to prepare the disciples for His departure as best He can. I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. The repeated use of I am suggests the name God gave to Moses by which to call Him: I am who I am (Ex. Hosea 4:8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. Mar 18, 2021 - Explore Jane Ellens-DeBoer's board "I am the vine, you are the branches", followed by 205 people on Pinterest. And to miss Him is to miss it all. When we eat bread, we eat the soil and sun. 1 Jesus said to his disciples: I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. He knows the end is near. And to bear these fruits we have to be like the branches attached to the vine. . Zero. (Comp., e.g., Romans 2:14-15, Notes. . I am the vine, you are the branches. Webster's Bible Translation It is not likely that Jesus means that they could lose their salvation, an impossibility for those truly saved, but that they and we could remain unfruitful and ineffective in our faith because we are not connected to the source of life. It is the one thing from which everything else proceeds. Remaining in Jesus is not just one of many things we are asked to do as Jesus-followers. It is up to us to remain. . Ask yourself, Where was I remaining today? Then talk to Jesus about your desire to remain more in Him. After Jesus states that He is the vine and we are the branches, the rest ofJohn 15:5reads this way: If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.. . Share to help others in their Catholic faith and life. The fruit that Jesus means for his disciples to bear is that of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 6:22-23) and also that of effective ministry. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast. IV. We dont have to plan for it. Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. Perhaps most of all, we live in a world that is grounded in myths of unlimited growth. Stay updated: subscribe by email for free TO OUR NEW WEBSITEwww.catholicsstrivingforholiness.org(PUT YOUR EMAIL IN THE SUBSCRIBE WIDGET).We are also inwww.fb.com/Catholicsstrivingforholiness. We arent just believing a set of truths. Lets explore its meaning. (Comp. 3:14). Be still. To miss this is to miss Him. This site, which is now using the Traditional Calendar, will mainly concentrate on Daily Prayers, Novenas and the Memorials and Feast Days of our friends in Heaven, the Saints who went before us and the great blessings the Church provides in our Catholic Monthly Devotions. 10 Reasons God Might Not Be Blessing Your Life, 10 Life-Giving Scriptures for Every Christian Woman, 10 Christian Dating Advice Tips for Singles Seeking a Godly Relationship, 3 Reasons Why It's Not Good for Christian Men to Be Alone, This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright 2023, Crosswalk.com. Every life in the created order came through Jesus (John 1:3), and the new life of the Kingdom now flows out of Him as well. In the New Testament that describes something parallel to remaining in Him souls is wise desire to remain more Him... The communion of the surest ways to learn to stay at home on your favorite couch using your account... 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