FRUITFUL AND BLESSED

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 9: 26 – 31; Ps. 22; 1 Jn. 3:18 – 24; Jn. 15: 1- 8

Mary Jane Veloso will no longer be an ordinary name in Philippine history. Her ordeal in Indonesia has forever left a mark in every life of the Filipino. In her farewell letter to her fellow kababayans, she has this to say, “‘Wag na kayong umalis sa ating bansa kahit na mas mahirap ang ating buhay, kasama naman natin ang ating mga mahal sa buhay.” (No matter how difficult life is in our country, please do not leave because anyway we are together with our loved ones.) Such is a plea from somehow who was about to face death. Thanks be to God, she was spared from meeting death at the last minute. Mary Jane asks her fellow Filipinos not to detach themselves from their loved ones no matter how difficult life is in the country. Her statement is a reminder for each one of us that when we are apart from our source, then, everything else will begin to crumble.

Such is the message of Jesus in our Gospel today. Jesus claims with authority that he is “the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.” He also asks us, the branches, to “remain in me, as I remain in you.” Why? Because “just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vines, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” And if we remain in Jesus, then whatever we ask will be done for us. Attaching ourselves to Jesus, the true vine, therefore, makes us fruitful and blessed.

And this is what happened to the early church in our first reading today. “The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.” Despite the persecutions which have beset the church, she continues to live in peace and grow in number because it was attached not to Paul, nor to Barnabas, nor to the apostles, but to Jesus Christ, the true vine. Indeed, the church was fruitful and blessed.

However, St. John in our second reading is reminding us how to nourish and maintain such connection, such relationship with Jesus. “And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.” For us to remain fruitful and blessed, we have to believe in the words of Jesus and never forget to love our neighbors.

In life, there are many things which money cannot buy. For the things which money can purchase are fleeting and fancy, therefore, we must not attach ourselves to those. Rather, we must attach ourselves to the higher values in life like truthfulness, understanding, integrity, care, concern, and love, so that we can truly grow and bear much fruit. However, what matters the most in the end is our connection with the source of everything, Jesus Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Away from him, we cannot be fruitful and blessed.

And so, as we celebrate every Sunday the Lord’s Resurrection in the breaking of bread, may we take this opportunity to be an experience of “charging” ourselves to our source. May every Eucharistic celebration be a source of nourishment in our lives so that we will go back to our homes and communities fruitful and blessed by Jesus, the true vine. Amen. 

Photo courtesy of http://communio.stblogs.org/