Friends,
in our Gospel passage today, Jesus declares that he is the vine and we
are the branches, adding that “anyone who does not remain in me will be
thrown out like a branch and wither.”
It’s
odd that we accept this sort of language very easily when it comes to
our bodily health, while we balk at it when it comes to spiritual or
supernatural health. Doctors and health specialists can say
with a clarity and matter-of-factness that certain practices and
behaviors are absolutely essential if one wants to maintain physical
well-being. Unless you eat a balanced, nutritious, low-fat diet, you
will get sick, fat, and unfit. If you smoke, drink to excess, and never
exercise, your body will become unhealthy, and if these practices (or
negligences) become exaggerated, you will die. It just isn’t that
complicated.
Jesus
is not engaging in charming poetic imagery. He is laying out the
spiritual facts. The spirit is a living thing, and it derives its life
from the vine. If therefore you are separated from the vine, you will
die spiritually; you will stop living a supernatural life. And it’s just
not that complicated.
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 everyone 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 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."
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