(Audio)
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
Jesus is the vine and this means that he himself is the source of life for the branches, the origin of their ability to bear fruit. Before we have this supernatural beginning we all have human origin or merely natural origins. We grow first from other vines. But these other vines, even that of the Israel before Jesus, grew wild and produced thorns instead of fruit.
because without me you can do nothing.
Without our connection to Jesus himself we do not have the sap of divine life flowing into us. We are left in the state to which Adam condemned the world.
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread (see Genesis 3:18-19).
Israel was no exception to this rule.
What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad? (see Isaiah 5:4)
Apart from Christ there were no exceptions to this rule. In order for there to be good fruit we must be joined to him who is the true vine. Otherwise we are little more than lifeless branches scattered on the earth. Dreaming and wishing for fruit cannot make it so if we are cut off from the source of life.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
The word that Christ spoke pruned us, especially when we were baptized. But to be joined to the vine is meant to be more than a once in a lifetime event. He himself remains in us so that we can remain in him. We must persist in hearing the word he speaks even as it continues to prune us. We should use the grace he gives us to draw as near to him as we are able, by prayer, Sacraments, and works of mercy. It is by this remaining that we bear fruit.
One risk for us is that we naturally don't enjoy pruning and so when his word strikes a nerve or hits a tender spot we decide not to put up with it anymore and to go away to our own places, separating ourselves from the vine. Another risk is that we attempt to remain on the vine but without letting his word continue to prune us. This happens when we let our self-will triumph over his impulse to love. When it happens we subvert and hoard the life of the vine for ourselves. Instead of fruit, we become a cancer on the body of Christ.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit
Jesus is generous in that he does not suffer us to live forever in the illusion that everything is as it should be when it is not. If we are dead branches that only have the appearance of being joined to the vine he will prune us in order that we might realize the reality of our situation. But even dead branches can be rejoined to the vine and given life again. We can be grafted back by the power of the cross, fertilized by the flow of his own precious blood. It is never too late to bear fruit. Even those who began to work in the vineyard at the last hour of the day received the same generous gift from the landowner (see Matthew 20:1-16).
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
The things that are possible when we truly remain in Jesus and bear fruit are more than anything we can ask or imagine apart from him. It is the difference between fishing all night and catching nothing and the miraculous catch in deep waters. These miracles will not be at the service of our egos, not sought selfishly or for mere entertainment. They will be for the glory of the Father, because when his Kingdom is sought above all else he himself is glorified.
The conversion of the Gentiles and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit marked the beginning of the age when all peoples could be joined to the vine of Christ. There were those who tried to restrict access to the vine as an exclusive club. But the visible and unmistakable outpouring of the Holy Spirit proved that there were now no barriers to prevent the entire world from being joined to the vine. Divine life itself was available for all who desired it.
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