Jesus uses a powerful image in the Gospel this morning, that of the vine, its branches and fruitfulness. In order to truly appreciate the import of that image, it is essential to look back at the Old Testament. There, the image of the vine is used over and over again to describe Israel and the fruitfulness that God desires.
If we go all the way back to the Book of Psalms, Psalm 80 describes the vocation of the vine from the beginning:
—Psalm 80:8-9
Clearly this psalm is making reference to God’s deliverance and how He set them free from slavery and death in the land of Egypt, bringing them into the Promised Land. God had driven out the nations before them, giving them victory after victory, until they were settled in the land and began to thrive.
The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to river . . .
—Psalm 80:8-11
This is one powerful, gifted and enormous vine! But the psalmist then breaks that description by asking a very direct question:
Why then hast thou broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
—Psalm 80:12-13
The context and reference for that startling question is the Assyrian invasion, where the Northern kingdom of Israel was besieged and ravaged. Why had God allowed that to happen? Almost in answer to that question, we hear a reply in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Although this time it is not Assyria but Babylonia, nonetheless the background is the vine and the reason for the invasion and captivity is the infidelity of the people to the covenant of God. Isaiah begins:
My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes but what it yielded was wild grapes.
—Isaiah 5:1-2
So much care and attention the beloved had given to secure that vine, but in the end it did not bear the fruit that he wanted. Isaiah then becomes very specific about the identity of the vine and what it produced:
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!
—Isaiah 5:7
This is not the fruit that God desired! And so the song continues, in the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Time and again the same story is told about the fidelity of God and the inconsistency of Israel to produce good fruit. In the New Testament Jesus will use that same image of the vineyard in the “Parable of the Wicked Tenants” in Chapter 21 of St. Matthew’s Gospel. The owner of the vineyard carefully prepares the land for growth and then places it in the charge of tenants until his return. At the season for harvesting the fruit, he sends out servants to see how things have gone but they seize and mistreat them, even killing some. The owner then sends his son, thinking they will surely respect him, but the end is tragically the same. It is the same story that has been told multiple times before, only now with a hauntingly prophetic reference to the death of the Messiah.
It would seem clear enough that this story is now over! The vine has simply not produced its proper fruit, and so that image has been spent. We would consider there to be no longer any hope for God’s vine to bear fruit.
And so it is astonishing that Jesus Christ announces to the disciples in this morning’s Gospel: I AM the vine!
It is not that there is no longer any place for Israel. Far from it! Jesus speaks to the gathered Apostles who represent the twelve tribes of Israel and says to them: “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” (John 15:5).
What makes this passage so breathtaking is the timing of the message. Jesus is speaking to the apostles in the upper room on the night before He dies. It is in the context of that Last Supper, when He is initiating the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, that He is speaking to them about fruitfulness and the vine. As they await the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, He is preparing them for the moment when the Spirit of God will fill them with power and send them out as branches extending across the face of the earth. We, of course, listen to this Gospel in the heart of the Easter Season as we await that same coming of the Holy Spirit. The fruitfulness of this vine is far from over!
I would suggest three important points for our reflection on the Gospel this weekend regarding the vine and God’s desire for us to bear fruit. The first is that we take seriously and literally the words of Jesus Christ this morning. Jesus is not using hyperbole or exaggeration to make His point. It is not the case that the words of Christ here are like the time he speaks about cutting off one’s right hand if it leads us to sin, or plucking out our eye if it is causing us to sin (see Matthew 5:29-30). Jesus says: “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Here we take Jesus at His word and believe it.
When I was a young man I used to volunteer at a homeless shelter because it seemed clear to me from the Gospel that this would be a good way to serve the Lord. I was surprised to find out from many people in that place that not every volunteer or worker in the shelter was appreciated or welcomed by those who needed help. Some of the guests told me that they felt poorly treated and regretted the visits of some people who volunteered in that place. Over time I came to understand that not everyone was there to serve the Lord or even the poor. Many were simply serving their own interests, and it showed!
Not every international agency serving the poor is bearing fruit for God. Not every group within the Church that claims to be helping others is always doing the work of the Lord. No, if we want to bear the fruit that God desires, then we have to remain and abide in Him. “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The second point for reflection for us can be taken from the obvious emphasis that Jesus gives to the word “remain.” When someone we love repeats themselves on some important point, we pay attention. When the Son of God says the same word eight times in four verses, we should be taking notes! This mantra is so common in the Gospels, this invitation to intimacy with the Lord. He invites us to stay with Him, remain with Him, abide in Him, rest in Him. There is no other way to fruitfulness than to remain deeply with Christ and allow Him to form and fashion us.
I never tire telling the story of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who would ask her sisters to spend one hour minimum before the Blessed Sacrament each day before they went out to serve the poor. One day a benefactor asked her why she insisted on this practice. Her answer: “Unless my sisters can come to recognize Jesus here in the intimacy of this chapel, they will never be able to recognize Him in the poorest of the poor.” The saints know. We hope to.
Which brings us to our final point: bear fruit! Jesus tells us in the Gospel this morning, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15:8). We are approaching the beautiful Feast of Pentecost and the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is St. Paul, in his Letter to the Galatians, who gives us his list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). These are the fruits that God desires! There is no law against these, St. Paul makes clear. We may do them whenever we want! These are the fruits that mark us as disciples of Jesus Christ. They are the foundation for every good work and word, because they are the hallmark of the Christian life. Jesus invites us this weekend to fully participate in these fruits and to allow them to become the impetus through which we accomplish everything that He has given us to do.
This week we seek to listen to the words of Jesus and remain in Him; we make every effort to abide in Him, rest in Him, come to know Him more intimately in the Christian life and in the teachings of our faith. When we do, we allow the Holy Spirit to live deeply within us, and to bear great fruit.
