5th Sunday of Easter

Gospel Reading: John 15:1-8

1 Jesus said to his disciples: 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

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.

3 You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you.

4 Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch can­not bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.

5 I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.

6 Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away - he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt.

7 Ifyou remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it.

8 It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.'

Gospel Meditation

Each year, on the fifth and sixth Sundays of Easter, the gospel readings are taken from the long discourse which, according to St John, Jesus gave to his apostles on the night before his pas­sion. This is contained in chapters 13 to 17 of the gospel.

This Sunday's extract gives us the parable of the vine and as always it has different perspectives which we need to go into.

The passage starts with the words, 'Jesus said these words to the disciples.' This little introductory phrase reminds us of an important point: Jesus' words were never spoken at some inde­terminate time; they were said by him at a particular moment. At this time, for example, the apostles were present with him; they seemed to be looking ahead to the coming passion and an­ticipating the part they were to play in it.

In fact we know now that they were not ready for it. He was giving them a warning about what was going to happen. He was also telling them of what lay in the future for them once the pas­sion and death of Jesus was over.

• Verse 1. The Father is the vine dresser. The parable is telling us first that Jesus is the true vine and his Father who dwells in the heavens is the vine dresser. We need to spend some time just meditating on this simple but very deep passage. Jesus is the humble servant of Christians, suffering so that we can all be safe. The Father meanwhile is a general overseer; he is situated way above our heads, in heaven. This is telling us something very important about Jesus' mission in the world. It is reminding us of how he saw himself and of his deep relationship with his Father in heaven.
• Verses 2 and 3. Christians then are branches of the 'true vine'. When a branch bears no fruit, the reason is clear - it is not linked to the vine; the Father then simply cuts it away and lets it lie there so that it dies without producing any more fruit. If on the other hand, a branch does bear some fruit, the heavenly Father is also very busy. He prunes it so that it can bear even more.
• Verse 3. The interpretation then changes. It asks the question, 'What is the pruning instrument?' The answer is simply that it is the actual words of the great Jesus - 'It is by means of the word I have spoken to you.' Jesus' words then are not mere words, they are pruning instruments; they can change our behaviour and can make important differences happen in how we deal with one another.

Jesus then makes a further distinction. 'Make your home with me as I make mine in you.' For ordinary people, 'being in the vine' merely means making a choice, then letting it influence how we deal with others.

In Jesus however, it is rather a matter of accepting that we are in him. We can then allow ourselves to move from that link and so touch the reality of the people we meet.

• Verses 4 and 5. The parable takes a new turn. Though linked to the old we get a new development. No branch of the vine can bear fruit all by itself, it must remain part of the vine. The branches too cannot bear fruit unless they remain linked with him, and are settled with him. We think of people in our time who bear fruit but these are the results of selfishness and of self-righteousness. They do not come from making themselves avail­able to Jesus, the source of all selflessness in the world.

'Cut off from me then, you can do nothing'. We think of people who bear fruit but are not tied to Jesus. Jesus of course stands or all who are truly life-giving to people. Their present religious filiation is no obstacle to bearing this wonderful fruit.

• Verse 6. Those who do not remain in him are like branches which have been thrown away. They wither and eventually die. These branches are collected and then thrown into the fire. They are useless until they can be totally burnt away and so disposed of.
• Verse 7. This is what happens when a branch remains at­tached to the vine and bears fruit from it: 'You will ask for what you will and you will get it.' The person who lives in Christ has a special relationship with the Father in heaven, a relationship based on intimacy with Jesus.

Prayer

'The purpose of the Master is to help you see the uselessness of hanging on.'Zen saying

Lord, we remember times of great crisis in our lives:

• a friendship of long standing breaking up;
• we lost our job;
• we or someone dear to us, was seriously ill;
• our country went through a time of great unrest.

We felt totally lost, as if you had cut us off and we were a dead branch lying on the ground next to the tree. But that wasn't it.
What had happened was that we had stopped bearing fruit and you were being a good vine dresser, pruning away dead branches and letting us get in touch with you at a deeper level, so that your love would flow through us and we could bear fruit again.

“The resurrection is like the first eruption of a volcano, which shows that it is the interior of a world, where God's fire is already burning” 
Karl Rahner

Lord, our civilisation has lost its energy: we have become complacent about our accomplishments and the fruit we have borne; we no longer have the creativity to face new challenges.
We pray that your church may speak the words of Jesus today, pruning away the dead branches of greed, individualism, the desire to dominate, so that humanity may bear fruit more abundant than before.
Lord as teachers, parents, leaders, we sometimes have to correct others. Give us the wisdom that we need to be good  vine dressers after your image, that we  may not be afraid to prune what is stopping life,and yet  not so harsh that those we correct may feel cut off from us and unable to bear fruit again.

Lord we remember at this time those who are involved in conflicts.
We pray that like Jesus himself may work for the true salvation of all the world.

In giving us his love, God has given us his Holy Spirit, so that we can \1arn with the love wherewith he loves himself.'
Meister Eckhart

Lord we thank you for the wonder of friendship.
We remember those who have become loyal friends to us.
They accept us as we are, just as we accept them.
We are part of their lives, so that our joys and sorrows affect them as theirs affect us.
Wherever we go we are still together because we have become part of each other.
Truly they have made their home in us, and we our home in them.
Lord, this is how you want to relate with us, and us to relate with you.
Lord people who work for a new kind of society often think they can achieve it on their own, following their own pace with no regard for the feelings of others.
As a church we have been guilty of this too,and so have those of us who have authority in the church.
Remind us, Lord, that we are branches of a vine - the community, the nation, humanity, nature - and a branch cannot bear fruit if it is cut off.
We may prosper for a while by dint of our own energy and enthusiasm, but sooner or later, like many others before us, we wither, are collected, thrown on the fire and burnt.

'We don't own the truth, and I need the truth of others.'
Bishop Pierre Claverie

Lord, people speak about becoming your disciples as trying to be perfect and achieving great things, so that only the strong willed can get there.
But it isn't like that at all.
It is a matter of learning to remain in your love, letting the stories of Jesus enter into the story of our lives, so that we live permanently in him and present to you.
Gradually, we stop worrying about what we want and we find that whatever we ask for we are getting.
As for good works, they are like fruit which appears on the branches of a tree when the season comes we don't have to bother about them at all, because they are the work of your glory.
That is how we become your disciples.
Thank you, Lord.