5th Sunday of Easter (B); April 28, 2024
Acts 9:26-41. Ps 22. 1 Jn 3:18-24. Jn 15:1-8
Deacon Jim McFadden
You may be familiar with the Co-Exist bumper sticker, which horizontally lists the great religions of the world: it uses the Islamic crescent moon for ‘C’, a peace sign for the ‘O’, the Hindu Om symbol for the ‘E’, a Star of David, for the ‘X’, a pentacle for the dot of the l’, a yin- yang symbol for the ‘S’, and a Christian cross for the ‘T’. The Co-Exist subtle suggests that all the world religions are on the same footing, that they are of parallel worth and that one religion is not qualitatively better than another; it’s all a matter of personal preference or cultural upbringing. The bumper sticker fits nicely with our inclusive sensibilities.
Today’s Gospel reading of the Vine and the Branches jolts our kumbaya predilections when we hear that a branch cannot bear fruit unless it remains on the vine. Or, more dramatically, “without me you can do nothing“(Jn 15:5c). Again, “Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither” (v. 6a). And, last week we heard Peter’s proclamation before the Sanhedrin that
“There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12)
These quotes offend our inclusive desires; indeed, the great vice of our society is exclusivity, which is why Catholics are regarded with suspicion and disdain by others. So, when we proclaim these statements that unless “You remain in Jesus, you can do nothing” offends people. Or, when Jesus says, “apart from me you can have no life” because “I am Life” itself, it strikes many as being insensitive and exclusive.
Is Jesus really saying that unless we are rooted in him, we can’t be saved or if we don’t dwell within him, then we are a useless branch only suitable for the fire. Put bluntly, yes, he is saying that! But to understand these radical statements, we have to put them into context. We are saying that Jesus is not one of many spiritual gurus a la the Co-Exist sign, but he is the Word of God made Flesh. He is Immanuel, God among us, which is a singular unique proclamation as it applies to no one else. That’s why St. Paul said in his 1st Letter to Timothy that Jesus is the sole mediator between Heaven and Earth (2:5).
Jesus is the power by which God makes and sustains the whole world. What does that mean? Hearken back to the Creation stories in Genesis 1-2: how does God create the world from nothing? He SPOKE his Word, who brought forth Creation. This means that anything that exists at all, exists through him. We hear this in John’s Prologue: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be” (Jn 1:1-3). If Jesus wasn’t as John proclaims, then it would be exorbitant to make all these exclusive claims. But, if he is, then we can attest that we find our very being in him and no one else.
The Word of God, the Logos— the 2d Person of the Trinity, is that power through whom we exist from moment to moment. As the Logos, the perfect self-reflective Thought of the Father, Jesus is the foundation of the order and structure of the universe. To convey this radical contingency on the Logos, Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches. 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 and you are the branches” (15:4-5).
With this image, Jesus teaches us how to abide in him, to be united in him, even though he is not physically present. Jesus is the vine, and through him—like a sap in a tree—the very love of God, the Holy Spirit is passed through the branches. That’s why we need to be united with Jesus. Cut off from the vine, we are not self-sufficient, but depend totally on the vine, in which the source of life is found. Why? Because Jesus is LIFE itself: through him everything comes into being and is sustained in being. So, it is with Christians: we are grafted onto Jesus.
What’s the implication? If John’s Gospel is any indication, Jesus does not want just worshipers—that’s a good start!—but he wants disciples, or better, participants: “I am the vine, you are the branches; live on in me; my body is real food and my blood real drink. The one who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
This beautiful organic image that John presents is meant to communicate the life-changing power of the Incarnation: the Word became flesh, our flesh, so that we might allow the divine energy to come to birth in us.
Much of this is summed up in the oft-repeated adage of St. Athanasius that God became human so that humans might become God. Many of our great theologians and spiritual masters speak of ‘divinization’ ’ or ‘Christification’—that is , a sharing in the symbiosis that is the Incarnation, which is the proper goal of human life.
Brothers and sisters, when we are united with and in Jesus, we will enjoy such incredible blessings, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are—as St. Paul tells us—“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22). May we enthusiastically be living branches in the Church and witness our faith in a consist manner—consistent in our thoughts, words, and deeds—knowing that all of us, according to our particular vocation and ministries, participate in the one saving mission of Christ Jesus.
Let us entrust ourselves to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She always remained completely united to Jesus and bore much fruit. May she help us to abide in Christ, in his love, in his word, to bear witness to the Risen Lord in the world. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- St. Peter in Acts 4:12 proclaimed that Jesus is the sole and universal savior of the world. What significance does that bold proclamation have for you?
- In the Vatican II document, Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution of the Church) said in paragraph 16 that non-Christians, even agnostics and atheists, may be saved. How may a Catholic put the two beliefs together?
- Jesus just doesn’t want worshipers, though that is a good start! He wants disciples, and more to it, participants. How do you participate in the Life of Christ; how do you live as a branch on the Vine?
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