BECOMING A FRUITFUL BRANCH


WEDNESDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER   

Acts 13:1-6; Ps 122:1-5; Jn 15:1-8

The Vine and Its Branches

The Son of Man uses the beautiful analogy of the vine and its branches to awaken our minds and hearts to ruminate on the kind of communion we share with him in God. Just as the vine and its branches form a single tree, the Son of Man forms a mystical union with all his members. We gain the membership of his body through profession of faith in the divinity of the Son of Man. As our head, the Son of Man, is hypostatically united to the Eternal Word. His resurrection from the dead proves his divinity beyond doubt. So, our faith in his divinity is also our faith in his resurrection. Our profession of faith enables us to share in the blessedness the Son of Man received for us as the head of our human nature. What he received without merit, he received for us, his brethren; and what he merited by his faithful obedience, he shares with us, so that we may also receive the fullness of life as a gift from God as he did. Hence, his merit extends his grace or gift to us, who share his human nature. All who received the same blessing as he did form the new human race made in the image and likeness of God. It holds true, therefore, that the new human race constitutes the new creation of God. Their formation marks the culmination of God’s creative project of making humans in His image and likeness. But until their number is complete, the sabbath rest of God and his people is yet to come.

The words of our Lord clarify this fact, for they explain God’s active work in completing the number of the saints; and also illuminate the unity of the head and the members. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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.” The same means the Father used to unite the Son of Man to the Eternal Word, He uses to form the members; that is, the word of God. Our faith has the word of God as its object. Therefore, we are united to the Word as the Son of Man through faith. By our faithful obedience, we are modelled on him. Our attention on the word of God is therefore the means of remaining united to him, and being fruitful in our Christian life and journey. By the same faithful attention, we are gradually transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. The Father prunes whatever does not conform to his divine will as expressed by his word.

Subsequently, distraction from the word of God is the cause of the unfruitfulness of a Christian. Whatever distracts us from focusing on the word of God and doing it is of the evil one. Paul and Barnabas opposed the men from Judaea on this basis. “Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Pual and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.” Our Lord warns us of finding our safety or salvation in any other thing that is not him, when he said: “Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.” The evil one knows this and comes with many distractions to make us lose our focus or attention on the word of God. The word of God is the single life of the Son of Man and his members. We lose this life when we let the word of God slip out of our minds and hearts. The word of God lives in us by our keeping it. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it.” The purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us is to realise this unity. He is with us that we may be at home with the word of God and be fruitful.

Let us pray: O God, restorer and lover of innocence, direct the hearts of your servants towards yourself, that those you have set free from the darkness of unbelief may never stray from the light of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.   

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