Season of Kaitha
KAITHA SECOND SUNDAY
JOHN 15:1-8
THE VINE AND ITS BRANCHES
INTRODUCTION
In his farewell speech at the Last Supper, Jesus
compared his relationship to God the Father using the example of a vine
and vinedresser. While presenting himself as the true vine, he portrayed
his disciples as its branches. From the practice of vinedressers, Jesus
warned the disciples that God will cut off the fruitless branches and
burn them. The fruitful branches would face pruning for more
productivity. Thus, Jesus validated the eternal destruction of the
unfaithful and the hardships of the disciples. The goal of Christians
must be to become fruitful branches of Jesus and the means for it is by
preserving their unity with him. When we stay united with Jesus and his
church by obeying his commandments, God would grant our requests. The
Father will gain glory when the disciples become productive through
Jesus. Let us be fruitful Christians by listening to the words of Jesus
and maintaining unity with his church.
BIBLE TEXT (JOHN 15:1-8)
(Jn 15:1) I am the true vine and my Father
is the vine grower. (2) Any of my branches that does not bear fruit, he
breaks it off; and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it
may bear even more fruit. (3) You are already made clean by the word I
have spoken to you; (4) live in me as I live in you. No branch can bear
fruit by itself; it has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you
bear fruit if you do not live in me. (5) I am the vine and you are the
branches. As long as you remain in me and I in you, you bear much fruit;
but apart from me you can do nothing. (6) Whoever does not remain in me
is like a withered branch that is thrown away; and the withered branches
are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned. (7) If you remain in
me and my words remain in you, you may ask whatever you want and it will
be given to you. (8) This is how my Father is
glorified – you become my disciples, and bear much fruit.
Jesus taught his apostles on discipleship through
his words and actions at the Last Supper. He washed their feet to teach
them the need for humility and purity in their lives (Jn 13:1-17). He
expressed during his discourse with them his awareness of the betrayal
of Judas (Jn 13: 10-11, 18, 21-30). Jesus reminded the apostles to keep
his commandment of love as a sign of their fellowship with him (Jn
13:34-35). He then predicted Peter’s denial of him three times that
night (Jn 13:36-38).
During his last supper discourse, Jesus promised
the apostles that he would come back after preparing a place for them
and take them to his abode in heaven (Jn 14:1-3) and revealed himself as
“the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). He also clarified his
unity with the Father by expressing, “I am in the Father and the Father
is in me” (Jn 14:11). Those who know Jesus will know the Father and
those who see him see the Father. He speaks and works on behalf of the
Father (Jn 14:7-14). Jesus also promised to send the Holy Spirit upon
the apostles (Jn 14:15-31). After revealing the Trinitarian bond to the
disciples, Jesus presented the metaphor of the vine and its branches to
remind them of the relevance of their unity with Jesus and to become
productive for the glory of God.
Jesus made use of imageries from people’s
experience to clarify his relationship with the Father and his
disciples. His listeners were familiar with the well-maintained vine
plantation on the hillsides of the Holy Land. Here Jesus presents
himself as “the true vine” like he had presented himself as the gate for
the sheep (Jn 10:7-9) and as the good shepherd who lays down his life
for the sheep (Jn 10:11-15). Isaiah presented Israel as God’s vineyard
(Is 5:1–7) and Jesus used the same imagery for the parable of the
tenants presenting Israel as God’s well-preserved vineyard (Mt
21:33-46). Psalm 80:9-17 presents Israel as God’s vine, starting with,
“You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out nations and planted it”
(Is 80:9).
The Biblical meaning of the word “true”
stands for what is eternal, heavenly, and divine. The worldly is
imperfect, whereas the divine is the genuine and the perfect. Jesus
revealed he is the truth (Jn 14:6). According to John the Evangelist,
Jesus is “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). Jesus emphasizes the
truthfulness, eternity, and perfection of himself as the vine of divine
origin by using the word “true.” Unlike Israel the vineyard of God, this
vine tree is the excellent one bearing the best fruit because there is a
quality difference in the vine trees. While speaking of false prophets,
Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes
from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears
good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear
bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit” (Mt 7:16-18). Jesus,
unlike rotten vine trees, is the best of its kind, bearing high quality
fruit.
God is the owner of the vine, which stands
for Jesus with his disciples as its branches. In the parable of the
tenants, Jesus presented the Father as the “landowner who planted a
vineyard” (Mt 21:33; Mk 12:1; Lk 20:9) which is Israel. Jesus did not
work independently of himself and expressed his close affiliation with
the Father. The Father is also the vinedresser who takes diligent care
of his vine to assure good yield.
God, as the vinedresser, would do the
two-fold tasks in his vineyard for effective fruit production. First, he
would cut off the fruitless tendrils to save the sap that they might
use, thus saving it for the fruit-bearing branches. Then he would trim
unnecessary shoots to keep the sap only for the selected branches,
yielding the best results.
When Jesus presented this metaphor, Judas was
the rotten branch among the apostles. He cut himself off from Jesus’
team by his greed for money, betrayal of his master, and his suicide.
The other eleven were the fruitful branches that went through pruning
during their ministry. The apostles, whom God pruned, produced excellent
results. A comparable situation would continue in the church's history.
Jesus is the vine, and his disciples are the
branches that he feeds with spiritual nourishment. They must bear
excellent fruit out of the grace they receive. If they fail in it, God
the Father, who is the vinedresser, would cut them out of the tree,
ending in their eternal destruction. Matthew chapter 25 gives examples
of such futile people.
1. In the parable of the ten virgins, five of
them failed to take oil with their lamps while waiting to welcome the
bridegroom at night. Jesus presented them as foolish virgins because
they could not join the wedding feast for lack of oil when the
bridegroom arrived at midnight (Mt 25:1-13). The non-practicing
Christians will end up in such a fate at the second coming of Christ or
by the end of their lives. God would exclude those without oil of
Christian virtues from the eternal banquet in heaven.
2. The parable of the talents is another
example of a cutoff branch. A noble person entrusted five, two, and one
talent each to his servants according to their ability before he went
for a journey. The first two multiplied their talents through trade.
“But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and
buried his master’s money.” When the master returned and settled
accounts with the three, the one who received one talent paid back the
same amount with no earning. The master commanded, “Throw this useless
servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and
grinding of teeth.” (Mt 25:14-30). Thus, Jesus warned his disciples to
be productive with the Christian virtues they had received.
3. The verdict at the second coming of Christ
to judge the nations is another example of what would happen to the
unproductive people. The Son of Man will assemble all the nations and
separate them like the sheep from the goats. After rewarding the
righteous on the right, “he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from
me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you
gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you
gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
… ‘And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous
to eternal life’” (Mt 25:31-46). Thus, Jesus illustrated how people
could become rotten branches that he would cut off at the end.
A few people who joined the mystical body of
Christ through baptism might lose faith and leave the church like a cut
off branch. Some others would remain as nominal members in the church,
generating no results out of the grace they have received. A typical
example is Judas Iscariot, who, along other apostles, left everything
and followed Jesus closely, preached his gospel in the villages and
towns, and healed the sick and cast out demons. However, his heart was
still nurturing selfish motives. Jesus told about such disciples, “‘Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say
to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we
not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your
name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart
from me, you evildoers’” (Mt 7:21-23). Hence, only those who do the
Father’s will, as Jesus taught us, will be the true branches that God
would preserve for eternal reward. God the Father will destroy the
unproductive branches.
During the Biblical times, the farmers
prevented vine from fruit-bearing during the first three years of its
growth to keep the plant strong. Careful pruning will continue from the
fourth year to strengthen the fruit-bearing capacity. The annual pruning
takes place in December and January.
Pruning of the vine involves:
1. Pinching off the tip of the shoot for its
slow growth.
2. Cutting the larger branches to prevent
them from becoming too long and weak.
3. Thinning out the unwanted flowers or grape
clusters.
These acts will hurt the plant but are
beneficial for their best productivity. Jesus used this as an example of
the hardships and opposition the disciples might face in their ministry,
leading to a glorious result. God the Father allows them for the best
outcome.
During the Old Testament times, the vineyard
of God was the house of Israel, the people of Judah, his cherished plant
(Isa 5:7a). “He spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the
choicest vines; Within it, he built a watchtower and hewed out a wine
press. Then he waited for the crop of grapes, but it yielded rotten
grapes” (Isa 5:2). “Although prophets were sent to them to turn them
back to the LORD and to warn them, the people would not listen” (2 Chr
24:19). He destroyed the unfaithful through war and natural calamities,
like cutting away the rotten branches of the vine. He pruned the rest by
temporary punishments for their repentance and revival of covenantal
relationship with God. “The discipline of the LORD, my son, do not
spurn; do not disdain his reproof; For whom the LORD loves he reproves,
as a father, the son he favors” (Prov 3:11-12).
Jesus came to prune the imperfect and to add
the obedient in his kingdom, the church. After his ascension into
heaven, Jesus continues to feed the faithful through his church like the
unseen root of the tree. Thus, the Christians receive spiritual
nourishment from Jesus through the church to become virtuous in the
world. While feeding the faithful with sacramental grace, God also
prunes them with challenges in lives and in their ministry for high
productivity. “Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when
he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to
those who love him” (Jm 1:12).
Fruit and food production involve hardship
and pain, ending in excellent result. Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to
you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains
just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn
12:24). People grind the wheat to make bread and crush the grapes to
produce wine. Similarly, the glorification of Jesus happened after his
passion, death, and resurrection. He asked his disciples to follow his
path. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his
cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:24-25).
Spiritual pruning must be necessary for our
purification and spiritual growth. Prominent Biblical persons like Noah,
Abraham, and Job faced challenges in their spiritual journey,
culminating in high rewards for them. The apostles and the early
Christian community underwent persecutions because of their loyalty to
Jesus. They welcomed the pain of pruning without complaint because Jesus
was their role model in facing severe oppression. “Some of the wise will
stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until
the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time” (Dan
11:35). Every failure, sickness, death of a loved person, material loss,
prejudice, hardships in the ministry, or other hurdles will have a
better turn out if we take them with a positive attitude.
Jesus taught, “Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and
those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted
the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Mt
7:13-14). God knows our suffering and, like a parent to the child, he
would safeguard us and welcome us to himself. Hence, we read in Hebrews,
“Endure your trials as ‘discipline;’ God treats you as sons. For what
‘son’ is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are without
discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards”
(Heb 12:7-8). “At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but
for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to
those who are trained by it” (Heb 12:11).
Uncleanliness came into the spiritual life of
humanity by the first parents’ violation of God’s commandment. The
uncleanliness continued whenever people disobeyed the word of God.
Jesus, the Word of God, came to teach us the truth and make us neat by
obeying God. The book of Hebrews states, “Indeed, the word of God is
living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even
between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern
reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Heb 4:12). God’s word is truth
that can sanctify the people of God (Jn 17:17). The apostles received
that powerful and sanctifying word directly from Jesus, the Word of God.
Simon Peter was convinced of the value of Jesus’ teachings. He confessed
to Jesus, “You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). Jesus’
teachings for over three years cleansed all the apostles, except Judas
Iscariot (Jn 13:10-11). After he left Jesus and the apostles for
betrayal, Jesus said of the eleven they were already clean.
According to the Old Testament, the fruits of the
first three years are unclean (uncircumcised) and from the fourth year
onwards they are acceptable for offering to God (Lev 19:23-24). The
apostles were entering the fourth year of following Jesus. By that time,
the Word of God cleansed them like the knife of the vinedresser pruned
the vine. The Word of God is like fire that burns the impurities and
purifies the metals like gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead (Num
31:22-23). Jesus purified the apostles, and they were ready to produce
good fruit based on the words they heard and practiced in life.
Jesus expressed his union with the Father,
“The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). He prayed for his future
disciples, “they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us” (Jn 17:21). When we live in Christ by
complying to the teachings of Jesus, we gain unity with his Father.
During his farewell speech to the apostles, Jesus said, “In a little
while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I
live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my
Father and you are in me and I in you” (Jn 14:19-20). Jesus assured that
when we live in communion with him, he will dwell in us, and we will be
in union with his Father as well. During his teaching on the Holy
Eucharist, Jesus said, “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true
drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in
him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the
Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me”
(Jn 6:55-57). Along with the Holy Spirit, Jesus is guiding the church
and its faithful.
Apart from Jesus, a person cannot be
spiritually productive and gain the eternal reward in heaven. During his
public ministry, those who confessed their faith in Jesus Christ gained
miraculous favors from him. Whereas those who rejected Jesus missed the
spiritual benefits he had offered to humanity. They were stuck with
their prejudice, selfishness, or attachment to wealth. Though Judas
joined Jesus as a disciple and Jesus selected him as an apostle, the
selfish motives made him a cut away branch. Jesus asked a young rich man
who wished to inherit eternal life to sell his property and give to the
poor to follow Jesus. He went away sadly, declining to give up his
possessions. Worldly attachments can prevent a person from remaining
part of Jesus, the true vine.
A branch cannot function independently but
has to remain part of the tree to get the sap necessary for survival and
productivity. Jesus, the way, and the truth, also gives eternal life. No
one can inherit the kingdom without him. When a branch separates from
the tree, it loses life, as with the prodigal son who insisted on
departing from his father with his inheritance. He eventually lost
everything he had received from the father and all people abandoned him.
He became like a withered branch. When he reconciled with his father, he
regained his lost privileges in the family. Separation from Jesus and
his church is spiritually destructive and union with Jesus through his
church is beneficial for the eternal reward. So, Jesus came to bring
back to him and to his Father those who became withered branches.
Vine can survive even if we cut down a few
branches. Whereas the branches cannot continue to exist without its
union with the stem. When the branches remain connected to the tree,
they form one vine and become fruitful. Jesus is the vine that connects
the branches to the ground from where the nourishments originate and
flows through the roots and stem to the branches. Similarly, we get the
grace from heaven only through Jesus and his church. That is why Jesus
said, “apart from me, you can do nothing.”
During the Old Testament times, when the
chosen people deviated from the commandments of God, they lost God’s
protection. That led to their destruction by the enemies around them
ending up in slavery. When division happened in Israel after the reign
of Solomon, the Northern Israel lost connection with the Temple in
Jerusalem and became idolatrous. The Assyrians attacked them and
dispersed them all over the world. They could never regain unity with
the worshippers of the God of Israel.
Jesus established only one church with him as
its head. Unfortunately, divisions happened because of opposing views
and conflict of interests, resulting in multiple Christian
denominations. Jesus had prayed for the unity of his disciples by the
end of his public ministry (Jn 17:20-21). Individuals also separated
from the church, claiming they want only a direct relation with God.
Such spiritual people miss understanding that Jesus is the only way,
truth, and life. Without him and his church, we cannot reach our eternal
destination.
When the vinedresser cuts away the fruitless
and dried branches, they wither and become useless except as fuel for
fire (Ezek 15:1-8). Similarly, an unfaithful Christian will wither
spiritually, ending up in eternal destruction, though he or she might
seem healthy and wealthy at present. Those who abandon their faith in
Jesus or affiliation with the church he established would not inherit
heaven because Jesus is the only way to the Father.
The message of John the Baptist was, “Even
now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does
not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt 3).
When Jesus was hungry, he approached a fig tree. Even after three years
of its growth, it did not produce any fruit, but leaves only. He said to
it, “‘May no fruit ever come from you again.’ And immediately the fig
tree withered” (Mt 21:20. God would allow time to the fruitless people
for conversion. In the parable of the barren fig tree, the owner said to
the gardener, “For three years now, I have come in search of fruit on
this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust
the soil?” At his request, the owner allowed another year to till the
ground and fertilize it, giving it a last chance (Lk 13:6-8). So, the
material prosperity of the non-believer is not an assurance of God’s
reward but an opportunity for repentance and reconciliation with Jesus
and his church.
The destruction of the withered people in
fire will happen at the second coming of Christ. “But as for cowards,
the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers,
idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the
burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev 21:8).
When the disciples remain united with Jesus
by keeping his commandment of love, his words remain productive through
them. They extend his mission by preaching the word of God and serving
people who are in distress, as Jesus had been doing during his public
ministry. The Word that became flesh and dwelt among us will continue
his action through his representatives. At the last supper discourse,
Jesus told the apostles, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my
Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with
him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words” (Jn 14:23-24). God
blessed David and renewed His covenant with him because he walked before
God with fidelity, justice, and an upright heart (1 Kgs 3:6).
God is always pleased to grant what His
faithful servants need for their ministry. King Solomon, at the early
stage of his governance, sacrificed a thousand burned offerings at Mount
Gibeon. God appeared to him there in a dream at night and said,
“Whatever you ask I shall give you.” Solomon’s request was, “Give your
servant, therefore, a listening heart to judge your people and to
distinguish between good and evil. For who is able to give judgment for
this vast people of yours?” The Lord was pleased at Solomon’s request
and said, “I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has
never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone
to equal you. In addition, I give you what you have not asked for: I
give you such riches and glory that among kings there will be no one
like you all your days. And if you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes
and commandments, as David your father did, I will give you a long life”
(1 Kgs 3:4-14).
During the sermon on the mount Jesus said,
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one
who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”
(Mt 7:7-8). Jesus assured answer to prayers in his name. “Whatever you
ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the
Son” (Jn 14:13). “Whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give
you” (Jn 15:16). “Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask
and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete” (Jn 16:24).
The apostles did miracles in Jesus’ name, so
their listeners were convinced of the divine mission they were holding.
God the Father answered all the prayers of Jesus except his prayer at
Gethsemane to take away the chalice from him. Jesus knew he had to
complete his mission. So, he added, “My Father, if it is not possible
that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” (Mt
26:42). Instead of taking away the suffering, God sent his angel to
empower Jesus in his distress to complete his mission (Lk 22:43).
Comparable situation can happen in our lives also. That is why Jesus
added, “Thy will be done” in the Lord’s prayer.
God told Moses, “‘I will show mercy to whom I
will, I will take pity on whom I will.’ So it depends not upon a
person’s will or exertion, but upon God, who shows mercy” (Rom 9:15-16).
We should not get disappointed when God does not answer all our prayers.
As a parent looks for what is good for the children, God will provide
all we need even without our asking, especially for our spiritual
growth. Jesus taught, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask
him” (Mt 6:8). Jesus said, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly
Father give good things to those who ask him” (Mt 7:11).
Parents find glory at the achievement of
their children, and teachers at the success of their students. Jesus
uses a similar pattern in God’s glory by the spiritual fruits we earn by
becoming disciples of Jesus. Thus, Jesus established the relationship
between the Father, the Son, and the fruitful Christians. During the
sermon on the mount Jesus told his disciples, “Your light must shine
before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your
heavenly Father” (Mt 5:16). The spiritual achievement of the disciple is
part of the accomplishment of Christ, who glorifies the Father through
his successful act of redemption. Every action of a Christian should
orient for the greater glory of God. Paul advises, “Whether you eat or
drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor
10:31).
MESSAGE
1. The church is the manifestation of Jesus’ vine
that has Jesus as an unseen root with its stem and branches spread all
over the world. We must remain in union with the church to receive grace
through the sacraments that Jesus offers through his church.
2. Vine trees are of distinct qualities. Jesus is
the true vine because he is a mixture of the divine and the human. He
came to uplift our human nature towards the divine level. Let us follow
the teachings of Jesus and be fruitful in practicing them.
3. “A good person out of the store of goodness in
his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil
produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Lk
6:45). Let us fill ourselves with good Christian principles and act
according to the teachings of Jesus.
4. The Son is united with the Father. So also, he
wants us to remain in union with Jesus and with the Father. Hence, Jesus
allows us the privilege to call God our Father. Let us be loyal to the
Father and the Son.
5. As a vinedresser, God would prune us for our
spiritual discipline and to make us more virtuous. Instead of becoming
disappointed, let us learn from our setback and strengthen our loyalty
to God. God purified and honored Noah, Job, and Abraham through tests in
their lives.
6. The Father gains glory when people become
productive through Jesus. Let us glorify God by remaining with Jesus and
obeying his teachings
7. Our achievement in spiritual life is by the
merits of Jesus and the generosity of God because no branch can bear
fruit by itself. Let us be grateful to God for the favors we receive and
consider ourselves as the humble servants of God.
8. The Word of God cleanses us from sin. Let us
develop an aptitude to study and put into action the message of the Holy
Bible.
9. Jesus practiced what he taught. He washed the
feet of the apostles to teach them on how to be humble servants for one
another. He sacrificed his life for the salvation of all humanity. Let
us imitate Christ in our daily lives.
10. Though Judas was an apostle, he could not fully
give up his material desires. He failed to practice what Jesus taught.
Are we, like Judas, involved in acquiring wealth by unjust means or
sacrificing everything for Jesus and the people he has entrusted to us?