HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

Apr 28, 2024

525

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (9:26-31)

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on this way to Tarsus.

The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32)

(R) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the Lord. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the Lord shall praise Him: "May your hearts live forever!" (R)

All the ends of the Earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of the nations shall bow down before Him. (R)

To Him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the Earth; before Him shall bend all who go down into the dust. (R)

And to Him my soul shall live; my descendants shall serve Him. Let the coming generation be told of the Lord that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born, the justice He has shown. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the First Letter of Saint John (3:18-24)

Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before Him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. And His commandment is this: we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep His commandments remain in Him, and He in them, and the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He gave us.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (15:1-8)

Jesus said 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. 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 to 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."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

As Jesus taught His disciples during his earthly ministry, He used many analogies, metaphors, and images familiar to the people of His time in order to illustrate some of His most important teachings. One of the images that Jesus used was of a vine and branches about which we read in today's Gospel, John (15:1-8). It was part of Jesus' final teachings to His disciples the night before His crucifixion at the last supper so as to strengthen and encourage the faith of his disciples in the difficult days ahead and to teach them the importance of cultivating and maintaining a close and intimate relationship with Him. In this metaphorical imagery, Jesus refers to himself as the "vine," His Father as the vine grower, and His followers as the branches. In fact, Jesus emphatically states, "I am the true vine". Here, by claiming that He is the true vine, Jesus makes a definitive distinction between Himself and anyone else, that is, false vine.

According to the Old Testament, the people of Israel were like vines or a vineyard that God had planted with the aim of giving His life to and bearing His fruit among other people on earth, Isaiah (27:3-5), Jeremiah (2:21) and Hosea (10:1). But they failed to fulfil God's purpose because they tried to do so in their own strength and toward their own purpose. So, Jesus declares Himself as the authentic vine and fruitfulness in contrast to Israel and its degenerate vine and fruitlessness. He then uses the vital union between the vine and branches to illustrate the relation between Himself and His disciples. In other words, He calls us the branches and wants us to be attached to Him. Just like a branch needs to stay attached to the vine to bear fruit, we too must remain connected to Him to be fruitful. If we fail to remain connected to Him, Jesus warns us that just as branches do not - indeed, cannot - bear fruit independently, so too we can do nothing on our own, let alone bear fruit. In fact, we will be like branches that are broken-off and wither away.

Now, what does it really mean to bear fruit? The fruit we are talking about here is not physical fruit that we eat, such as apples, cherries, or oranges but spiritual fruit. Bearing spiritual fruit is evidence of being connected to Jesus, the true vine. While the Bible reveals many ways of bearing fruit, one that stands out to me is found in the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians (5:22-23). Paul says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". In other words, these are the spiritual fruits or the character attributes that Jesus calls us, His followers, to exhibit in our daily lives, reflecting our life-giving connection to Jesus Christ.

Bear in mind that the spiritual fruits are very real and valuable although they grow gradually, quietly and subtly since the time of baptism. They are manifested in our thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions. For example, the fruits of patience and self-control are shown when we stay calm in a tense situation, like when you get back to your car to find you have been issued a penalty ticket unfairly. The fruit of joy is exhibited when we find happiness even in small things, such as taking a walk in the park, listening to music, or enjoying an ice-cream - even in the midst of difficulties. The fruit of peace is displayed when we accept God's will for our life and not our own will. The fruit of kindness is expressed not only in our care and concern for the well-being of our fellow human beings but also in understanding and acknowledging God's kindness that impels us to put the needs of others before our own. So, if we remain attached to the vine, we will be fruitful.

However, just as the vine grower meticulously trims away the branches that hinder the vine's growth and prunes from time to time the fruit-bearing branches to help them yield more fruit, God the Father removes anything that is not in line with His plan in our lives and prunes at different times in different areas of our lives so that we will be more like Christ. As we grow in our faith, God continues to prune those thoughts, attitudes and behaviours that are unchristian or defame and dishonour God's glory.

In today's gospel, Jesus does not tell us how this spiritual pruning takes place. However, many biblical stories and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels reveal that there are many forms of spiritual pruning. Suffering is one form of pruning. God allows tests, trials, challenges, problems, and hardships into our lives and uses them to prune us so as to prepare us for greater things ahead. For example, the story of Joseph, from the Book of Genesis (37:2-50:26) shows how God uses our trials, often orchestrated by others, for a larger purpose. God also prunes us through Lenten practices, such as prayer, fasting, penance, and almsgiving so that we will become better Christians and witnesses. The process of pruning may be uncomfortable and painful because we lose a part of ourselves. But it will certainly make us more fruitful, allowing us to live life to the fullness that God desires for us. He does not prune us in order to punish us but to teach us to remain connected to Christ - the true source of life - and to keep us spiritually healthy and productive.

The question then arises as to how we can stay connected to Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself shows us the way to remain connected to Him. He says, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you", John (15:7). In saying this, Jesus teaches us two things:

As a branch, we can stay connected to Jesus through His Word. "My words remain in you" means to let the words of Jesus take root in us and bear fruit. Simply put, we must read or hear and reflect on the words of Jesus, keep them securely in our hearts and minds and live out what they teach us. Besides the words of Jesus, we can remain connected to Him through prayer. Prayer is the opening of our hearts and minds to God. Through prayer, we can bring our needs, problems, concerns, and hopes to Him; we can thank Him, praise Him, and confess our wrongs. We can also stay connected to Jesus by being active members of the local community of believers and reaching out to those who do not yet know God.
Obedience and answered prayer are related. Being connected to Jesus qualifies us to ask Him for anything we want and He responds to all our requests. At first glance, it might seem like a blank check from Jesus. But the point is - if we truly stay connected with Jesus and His Word, then it is guaranteed that God hears all our prayers.

Finally, Jesus says that bearing abundant fruit glorifies God the Father and identifies us as His disciples. Although He was fully God, Jesus set aside His glory and lived His life in complete dependence upon the Father and obedience to the will of His Father. He has demonstrated to us what it truly means to live as God intended man to live. Let's strive to be more like Christ. Let us demonstrate our discipleship and glorify God our Father in heaven by maintaining a closer and more intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus and by bearing as much fruit as possible just as God desires of us.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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