"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."
Jesus introduces Himself in the Gospel today as the vine, to which we, the branches, are attached. A branch not attached to the vine will surely die. In the same way, if we do not remain in Jesus, we shall die.
Our mission as branches is to produce fruit. The Father, the vine grower, will cut off every branch that does not bear fruit. If we let sin hinder us from bearing fruit, we will be cut off from God. We will feel that God is not with us. But it is our own fault because it was our choice not to bear fruit. We are the ones fleeing from God because of our sins. This is the effect of sin. Sin separates us from God, our vine, and from our neighbor, our fellow branches.
We should let God prune us. We should let Him cut off those in us which hinder our growth - sin, anger, pride and any other evil. Everyday, the Father tries to prune us. We just have to submit ourselves to Him. We need to listen to the Word of God and let His words transform us.
The events in our lives are also God's pruning. Regardless of how joyful or how bitter the events in our lives make us feel, they are willed or allowed by God in order to prune us. It is up to us to pick up the lessons that God is trying to teach us through these events.
But regardless of what happens in our lives, we should remain in Jesus, for He is our source of life. We should stay in the path of righteousness, the way of love. God created us out of nothing, and we return to nothingness without Him. Our lives should be dedicated to God and we should have a harmonious relationship with Him and with each other.
To produce fruit means to be faithful to our mission as branches. We, as Christians, are given an active faith. It empowers us to reach out and evangelize by word and deed, to touch lives and make other people feel God's presence. Through this, the Church grows and develops new branches; and we ourselves grow and bear the choicest of grapes.
Our mission as branches is to produce fruit. The Father, the vine grower, will cut off every branch that does not bear fruit. If we let sin hinder us from bearing fruit, we will be cut off from God. We will feel that God is not with us. But it is our own fault because it was our choice not to bear fruit. We are the ones fleeing from God because of our sins. This is the effect of sin. Sin separates us from God, our vine, and from our neighbor, our fellow branches.
We should let God prune us. We should let Him cut off those in us which hinder our growth - sin, anger, pride and any other evil. Everyday, the Father tries to prune us. We just have to submit ourselves to Him. We need to listen to the Word of God and let His words transform us.
The events in our lives are also God's pruning. Regardless of how joyful or how bitter the events in our lives make us feel, they are willed or allowed by God in order to prune us. It is up to us to pick up the lessons that God is trying to teach us through these events.
But regardless of what happens in our lives, we should remain in Jesus, for He is our source of life. We should stay in the path of righteousness, the way of love. God created us out of nothing, and we return to nothingness without Him. Our lives should be dedicated to God and we should have a harmonious relationship with Him and with each other.
To produce fruit means to be faithful to our mission as branches. We, as Christians, are given an active faith. It empowers us to reach out and evangelize by word and deed, to touch lives and make other people feel God's presence. Through this, the Church grows and develops new branches; and we ourselves grow and bear the choicest of grapes.
amen
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