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"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."
- John 15:1-11
Jesus has been giving His Farewell Discourse to the Apostles. This is the time just before He will be betrayed and seized by the authorities. He began with the words, "Let your heart not be troubled . . . " (see In My Father's house are many mansions). In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued: "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here."
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." My study bible notes that "the vine is a symbol if Israel (see Is. 5:1-7, Jer. 2:21). In contrast to disobedient and unfruitful Israel, Jesus calls Himself the true vine which, together with its branches, constitutes a new and fruitful people of God, the Church." We note that every time Jesus identifies Himself, it is with clear reference to the Father. Here, He is the true vine, but His Father is the vinedresser.
"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." Here, we are invited to consider what it means to bear fruit in the context of Jesus' teachings. We are all called upon to bear spiritual fruit, the fruit of His teachings and commands. Note that even those branches that produce are pruned by the Father; the things we don't need in our lives are pruned away for better spiritual growth, more fruit.
"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." My study bible has a note here: "Abiding in Christ is living out our union with Him in faith, baptism, love, obedience, and Eucharist. The figure of the vine and branches shows: (1) our union with Christ is intimate and real -- we are a new people in Christ; (2) life flows from the vine to the branches -- abiding in Christ is not static nor 'positional,' but dynamic and vitalizing; and (3) the fruit we bear is both good works and mission (v. 16, 'go and bear fruit'). Those who do not abide in Christ bear no fruit, and are cut off from Him (v. 6)." The words Jesus teaches here are very clear: just as He has always referred Himself back to the Father, so are we dependent upon Him for our own fruit we bear. We cannot do it of ourselves, just like a branch can't bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." My study bible notes, "Without Christ we can do nothing -- nothing which is properly motivated and gives glory to God." Jesus takes this metaphor of the vine and continues, turning it to different angles and teaching us what this really means for us. Again, there is an even stronger emphasis now on bearing fruit: abiding in Him, we can bear much fruit. But without Him we can do nothing. Abiding in Him isn't a one-way street: we abide in Him, and He in us. This speaks of the depth of relationship, of communion, among believers and Christ -- but He will take this even further.
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." Without this abiding, our worth is like a branch that is withered and bears no fruit at all. It is a sense of dying spiritually without Him, without this abiding. He again refers to His commandments, His words, as in yesterday's reading, when He taught, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Abiding in Him is a relationship made possible through the Helper, the Spirit which He will send. In Monday's reading, He taught, "Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." Here He links this again with what it is to abide in Him.
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." My study bible tells us, "The fact is, God does love us unconditionally, no matter what our response. But His unconditional love does us no good unless we keep His commandments and abide in His love. We show our love for God by obeying Him." Jesus gives us a deeper response to what it is to keep His commandments, the teachings He has emphasized and given: we also abide in His love and we are linked through Him in turn to the commandments of the Father and the Father's love.
"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." Not only love, but joy is given here through Jesus at His Farewell Discourse. He is going away, but it is His joy and love in which we are to abide. This word for joy, in the Greek, is linked to the word for grace - they share the same root. It is also the root of the word with which Gabriel greets Mary at the Annunciation, which has often been translated as "hail." It means, in the Greek, "be joyful." The good tidings of God's grace renders us joy; it is the fullness of this joy that Jesus leaves us (and His disciples) here.
In today's reading (and the earlier ones in His Farewell Discourse), Jesus ties in what it is to remain "in His name" with His commandments, with the Spirit who will enlighten us to them, with abiding in Him and the Father, with His love and the Father's love, and finally with the fullness of His joy in us. The fullness of this cup cannot be overestimated. He is going away, but He goes to the Father and will send us something greater than any gift. In the fullness of His grace we abide in His love and share the fullness of His joy. We bear spiritual fruits and so are "like Him" by abiding in Him. Even the things which do not help us to bear such fruit will be pruned away from us by the Father. Love and grace and the truth of His commandments are mixed with the fullness of the joy with which He leaves the disciples and gives to us in turn. How do you experience the love of God, and how do you return that love? Are there spiritual fruits in your life? Are His commandments precious to you? All of these questions are opened up for us here, and the depth of His love is something we have within ourselves, as He promises that He also abides in us. Let us remember that joy and grace are linked: Mary's good news greeting is the same joy with which Jesus gives His farewell.
