I Am the Vine You Are the Branches

About 6 summer ago, as I was driving home from work, I noticed a single tree standing out in a field. There were no other trees around just this one tree. It needed no support; it stood alone proud and unaided but by itself. It really did not do anything for anyone, it was just there. Then I thought about the gospel reading and about what I had read in an earlier chapter John 5:30 were Jesus said “I can not do anything on my own because I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me.” So I understood why Jesus was not like a tree but I was still curious as why Jesus described himself as a vine. So I thought about the vine a little more and what are the things that make a vine like Jesus Here are just a few things I came up with.

Vines need support, if you look at a vine on a trellis you can see how it intertwines with it and becomes one with it. A vine that clings to a building begins to take the shape of the building. You may not see the buildings exterior after a while but you know it is there holding up the vine. Jesus clings to the Father, he needs him to support and hold him, and he becomes intertwined with the Father. In the same way we too need Jesus for support and cling to him. This is where free will comes into play for if we allow him he then also intertwines in your lives and we become one with him and begin to take on the shape of Christ to others. 

Branches that are attached to the vine get their nourishment from it and produce fruit. Those that are broken off can not grow and die. They have no where to get the sustenance they need to live. We get spiritual nourishment from Jesus through the sacraments, if we do not partake of them we die spiritually, but if we frequently go to reconciliation and come together with Christ in the Eucharist we will flourish and produce much fruit to the glory of God.

 

If a branch continues to take nourishment from the vine and does not produce it is pruned or cut off. Sin takes nourishment away from us and needs to be pruned from our lives. Paul is a good example of a branch taken from a poor vine and grafted to a healthy vine. This begins on the road to Damascus after meeting the resurrected Christ. It is after this meeting that Paul becomes a healthy branch and begins to bare fruit for Christ. Through out the rest of his life, nearly 30 years, Paul is continually being pruned though his persecution by his enemies. They try to kill him but because he is attached to Christ, the true vine, he continues to flourish and produces more fruit by bringing others to Christ. Those that he brings are then grafted to the true vine and also begin to bare fruit.

          But what kind of fruit are we to bear? We are to bare the fruit of love. But not love in word or speech but in deed and truth. If a vine produces beautiful flowers but no fruit it will be cut off. It is of no use to the vine. If we are to overcome the opponents of our faith it is not enough to just use words but we must be living examples. Today there seem to be far too many so called Christians, who you might call partial Christians, who just want to pick and choose from the commandments that God has given to us, and only follow Jesus’ teachings that are convenient to them. We cannot afford to be partial Christians. Christ told his followers to let their light of faith and good deeds shine before all. We are to be beacons of light to others who have doubts about themselves and their belief in God’s presence in their lives. Our deeds must come before our words to shine before all otherwise we will be like the branch that does not produce and we will be cut off and thrown into the fire.

                  So many people wonder aloud how they are going to get the strength and courage to be the beacons that Jesus wants them to be. They are afraid to tackle issues facing our society that are contrary to Jesus teachings and God’s commandments. They say that these are too demanding and burdensome. The truth is quite the contrary. Difficult as the commandments may seem, burdensome they are not. Jesus has told us that he will never give us any burden without giving us the strength to carry it out.

We must cling to Jesus as our vine of hope and salvation. If we will make him the first priority in life, he will provide us with whatever is necessary to live in this life and to attain eternal life. Let Jesus prune us with the trials and tribulations that come our way, so that we may always be strengthened and become stronger branches. Let us remain in him so we will be able to bear much fruit that we can share with those less fortunate than ourselves. Jesus tells us –“Without me you can do nothing.” He also tells us– “All things are possible with God.”