We all have the experiences of friendship. There are people we relate to every day, with whom we work, eat, walk or have fun. But that doesn’t mean we are friends. With the friend there is a deeper relationship, there is something that unites us beyond the physical proximity to the person. It is a deeper bond of hearts. Being friends means more than just being together. Let us remember that the prodigal son, when he left with his share of the inheritance, had many friends but, as soon as the money ran out, the people that surrounded him too ran out of his life because they were not friends. Friends are for both good and bad times, for joys and sorrows.
Today’s Gospel tells us about our relationship with Jesus. It gives us a concrete example to talk about it: the vine and its branches. The branches have life only if they are united to the vine. But, the other way round is equally true: without the branches, the vine will never bear fruit. What unites the vine and its branches, is the current of sap that carries life continuously from one to the other. When we look at the vine, the sap is not seen. It runs inside the trunk and branches. Even when a branch is cut, the sap is not seen with the naked eye. You need a deeper look, to see it. And yet it is there. A branch that separates from the vine, dries up, and dies. As Jesus says, it is thrown into the fire.
Today Jesus calls on us to maintain that deep relationship with him. Like the vine and the branches. Like good friends. He doesn’t ask us to spend the whole day in church praying. Friendships do not require that they are together all day. But he does ask us to maintain that deep bond, to let his sap reach us inside and give us the life we need to bear fruit. What fruit? Well, as the second reading says, the fruits are to fulfill his command, that is, we love each other. That is the fruit that we have to give: “fruits of love for the life of the world”, as the Second Vatican Council said. May others feel appreciated and valued, welcomed with mercy and understanding, may we sow peace and serenity around us, may we renounce violence, may we be honoured in our work. These are the fruits we will bear if we remain united to Jesus. But, as the second reading also says, “let us not love in word and with our lips, but in truth and deed”.
For your reflection
What does it mean in practice for me to remain united to the vine that is Christ? Do I feel that I maintain that deep relationship with Jesus that allows me to bear fruits of love? How do I express my love to those around me? Have I at least renounced violence in my life?
Father Fernando Torres CMF
www.ciudadredonda.org
Translated by
Father Alberto Rossa CMF
