|
This is the time of year when
you notice everyone out in their garden turning over the soil, selecting
the flowers and vegetables to be planted, taking advantage of the
beautiful spring weather. This Sunday our selection from the gospel
according to John presents Jesus' teaching that he is the true vine and
his Father is the vine
grower. Just a while ago one of the parishioners was telling me about
how he had to remove a grape vine from the backyard because it had grown
wild. Now I am no authority on the subject, but it would seem that these
vines need a great deal of attention. Left to their own, they seem to
grow in any possible direction and this in turn effects the quality of
the grapes.
This is a wonderful analogy for the Church. Jesus is the true vine. By
baptism we have been grafted on to the true vine. If we are pruned and
the life of the true vine flows through us, then we will yield an
abundant harvest. Some of us come from really wild vines. Left on our
own there is no telling what kind of harvest we might produce. That is
why we need the Father to keep pruning away at us. If we go too far in
one direction, snip! The Father trims us back.
If we are stunted in some area of our life, the Father dumps a little
manure around our roots to get us going again.
Sometimes we think that by following the rules, you know . . . going to
church on Sundays, living a moral life . . . we have fulfilled all of
the Lord's expectations for us. This is half the battle. By "following
the rules," we remain on the vine. More importantly, we need to bear
fruit. In his first letter John tells us we must "love in deed and in
truth and not merely talk about it." We are "to love one another as he
commanded us." So in addition to remaining on the vine with Christ, we
can expect the Father to poke us, trim us, and urge us on, to make real
the love of Christ in our lives.
Today we might ask ourselves what fruit are we bearing for the kingdom
of God? How have we glorified the Father as disciples of Christ? And do
we pray expecting that whatever we ask for in Christ's name the Father
will do for us, especially when we pray for others?
|
