May 2, 2021

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

Last Sunday we read about the Good Shepherd, an image that Jesus borrowed from the Old Testament to describe his relationship to his disciples. This weekend we see Jesus borrow another metaphor to instruct his disciples. It is known as the Vine and the Branches. This image was used quite often in the Old Testament to refer to the people of Israel who symbolized a vine, or vineyard, with God as the vine grower or owner of the vineyard. Their task was to represent the Lord to the surrounding nations as the one, true God. But they often failed in their duty as God’s representatives through disloyalty or idolatry and thus became spurned and exiled.

As the chosen one of God, Jesus now takes on this role of the vine tasked to sprout and spread the kingdom of God. God provides him life as the vine and cultivates his branches so as to yield rich fruit. Jesus announces this at the beginning of the Gospel (Jn. 15:1-8) when he says 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 every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” (Jn. 15:1-2).

Now Jesus in turn sees his disciples taking on the role of the vine and carrying on the work he has done in the name of the Father. He tells them that they have already been pruned, or prepared, because they have listened to his words and learned from his teachings. They only need to remain in his love, that which comes down from the Father, and they will bear much fruit, that is accomplish great things. He cautions them though, that if they do not remain in his love, they will become like branches which whither and are destroyed.

When we look at the First Reading from Acts (Acts 9:1-20) we are introduced to Paul, one of the most notable disciples of the New Testament. His life story serves as a perfect illustration of the parable of the Vine and the Branches. Paul was a Jew and Roman citizen born in the city of Tarsus. He describes that he was devoutly faithful and proud of his heritage, having been raised as a Pharisee: “Circumcised on the eighth day of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee.” (Phil. 3:5).

However, Paul lived during the First Century AD when a large number of Jews were coming to believe in Jesus as the anointed Son of God, the vine whose disciples would become the branches. At this time Paul, also known by his Hebrew name Saul, took exception with the belief in Jesus and sided with the Jewish leaders who sought to extinguish the movement that the disciples had started after the Resurrection.

By his own admission Paul revealed how zealous he was in striving to wipe out the cause for Jesus: “You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it” (Gal. 1:13). According to Jesus’ metaphor of discipleship, although a man of religion, at this point Paul would have been “a branch that withers and is thrown out to be burned” for his persecution of the Church.

Just prior to the passage we hear today from the book of Acts, Paul is traveling to the synagogues of Damascus with letters of permission from the high priests to arrest any Christians there and return them to Jerusalem to be imprisoned. On the way to Damascus Paul experiences a conversion. He sees a light suddenly flash in the sky and hears the voice of Jesus saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4).

Paul is blinded by this incident and taken to Damascus by his fellow travelers. There his eyes are opened by a follower of Jesus named Ananias who also baptizes him. Now fully converted by his encounter with Jesus, Paul fervently proclaims the Gospel in the synagogues to the surprise of all those who knew him as a persecutor of Christians. So ardent is he in his conviction that the Jews actually seek to kill Paul.

In the First Reading today, Paul arrives in Jerusalem and tries to join the other disciples, but they are afraid of him knowing about his prior reputation. However, one of the disciples there named Barnabas, vouches for Paul, leading the other disciples to accept him. Because of his zeal for Christ and missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean, Paul goes on to establish numerous Churches in the name of Jesus and convert both Gentiles and Jews to the way of Christ. Paul would become the fruitful branch extraordinaire on the vine that is Jesus. Because of his efforts: “The church was built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.” (Acts 9:31).

The lesson that Jesus teaches his disciples in the parable of the Vine and the Branches, and which Paul flawlessly represents with his conversion and missionary accomplishments, is no less important for us today. As Christians we are all part of the Body of Christ. We are the branches on the vine which is the Church called to spread the Good News of Jesus. In order to discern the proper path of discipleship for spreading the gospel message we might take a closer look at the branches that Jesus describes in the parable.

First, it is necessary to recognize that Jesus is the vine, and the Father is the vinedresser. This means that we are powerless to bear fruit, to do the works of God, unless, like branches on a vine, we remain close to Jesus. Our efforts alone are wasted unless we rely on his guidance through faith and prayer. This is what he tells us, “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.” (Jn. 15:4).

Jesus then goes on to reveal the ways that we can remain close to him. He says that we are pruned by the words he has spoken. This means we must listen attentively to the message of the Gospel and take it to heart, to prune us, or purify us of excess things which prevent us from living God’s word and what God wants us to do.

Looking at the metaphor of the vine we can also see the symbolism for the Eucharist. Jesus is the grape vine which produces the wine we consume as his life blood within us. When we receive the grace of God from the Real Presence of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, we become empowered to do the works for which we are called.

Finally, and most importantly we must not become like the unproductive branches which bear no fruit, those which are cut off and discarded. This is what happens when we neglect the commandments of God and fall into serious sin. We become “cut off,” separated from Jesus by failing to love God and neighbor. In other words, we become spiritually dead, unable to do the works of God.

This Easter Season that we celebrate is a springtime of new growth, a time when the branches on a vine begin to blossom and grow. Let us celebrate this season remaining in Christ so that we can bear the fruit of his love to others around us.