Wednesday Reflection

Daily Gospel Reflection May 13^th 2020

Gospel                                                                   JN 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.”

Dear Friends and Family,

            Jesus tells us two different things about himself and his Father.  He says he is “the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.”  In the life of grape vines you need two essential elements if you wish to see a harvest; strong vines and a wise vine grower.  Branches produce the fruit, but branches come and go.  A strong vine gives the branches all they need in good times and in bad.  That is because a good vine’s root will often go forty feet deep or more into the soil, never withering even in the driest of years.  Any vineyard owner will tell you that it’s the hard dry years that produce the best fruit.  A good vine grower will watch the branches and prune where it is needed.  The vine grower will stretch the vine out on supports and give the branches the support they need to bear abundant fruit.  This is what our God does for us.

            This is a difficult year, but our vine will give us all that we need because Jesus is untouched by the chaos of the world.  Our task is to remain in him.  Jesus repeats this word over and over again.  So how do we “remain”, what does that look like in our lives?  We can read the Gospels, watch Mass online, read the lives of the saints, pray, live the Works of Mercy, etc.  What will you do today to remain in him? It’s our responsibility to stay attached to the vine and allow the vine’s abundance to flow through us and bear fruit.  It’s also our challenge to surrender ourselves to the vine grower as he prunes back all that is a distraction or a drain on our fruitfulness.  As branches we can do nothing on our own, we can’t grow roots and feed ourselves.  We may be able to see the things that need to be cut out of our lives but we are often powerless to do so.  We need our God, the vine grower, to set us free from our misdirections and give us the support we need to bear abundant fruit.  We have a God that leaves nothing to chance, it’s his love that flows through us and it’s his watchful eye that allows our vulnerable lives to bear fruit.  Our job is simple; we remain on the vine, let the sun shine on us, grow where God wills, and then wait for the harvest.