29 April. 5th Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:26-31 + Psalm 22 + 1 John 3:18-24 + John 15:1-8
1st Reading: Acts (9:26-31)
Barnabas introduces Paul the convert to the church in Jerusalem
When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him. When the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
Responsorial Psalm (from Ps 22)
Response: I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the Lord.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the Lord shall praise him:
May your hearts live forever! (R./)
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the Lord;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him. (R./)
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust. (R./)
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the Lord
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown. (R./)
2nd Reading: 1 John (3:18-24)
To live as God intends we must above all love one another
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment: that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
Gospel: John (15:1-8)
Like the Vine and Branches, Christ is intertwined with his disciples
Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Why pruning is needed
Those who grow roses will know that they need to be pruned if you are to get the best out of them. What is true of roses is true of most plants; pruning brings on new life. Jesus refers to pruning in this morning’s gospel. He suggests that in various ways God prunes our lives to make them even more fruitful than they presently are. There are some things we may need to shed if we are to become all that God is calling us to be. Some kind of letting go, which can be very painful at the time, can help us to grow in our relationship with God and with others. Through any experience of pruning in our lives, the Lord is near to us. In the words of the gospel, he makes his home in us, he remains in us. We don’t have to endure being pruned on our own. The Lord who makes his home in us sustains us in those times, leading us into a new and more fruitful life. But for this to happen we need to remain in him as he remains in us.
Vine and branches
God is love and whoever lives in love, lives in God. Today’s Gospel explores this intense intimacy using the imagery of the vine, a metaphor which invites wider reflection on faith, grace, prayer and practice. We are all called to such intimacy and no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord. (Kieran O’Mahony)
Believing, as branches in the Vine
[José Antonio Pagola]
Believing isn’t a a fleeting impression or emotion of the heart. Without doubt, the believer experiences faith, even enjoys it, but it is not just a sentiment. Faith isn’t something that depends on feelings, as in: “I don’t feel anything anymore; I must be losing my faith.” Being a believer is a responsible and reasoned attitude.
Nor is faith a personal opinion. The believer personally commits self to believe in God, but faith can’t be reduced to subjectivism. I have my ideas and I believe what seems right to me. The reality of God doesn’t depend on me, nor is the Christian faith one’s own fabrication. It arises from God’s action in us.
Neither is faith a custom or tradition received from my parents. It’s good to be born in a believing family and receive from childhood a Christian orientation of life, but it would be trivial to reduce faith to religious custom: “Our family has always been church-going”. Faith is a personal decision of each person.
Faith is not reducible to morality. Believing in God has its demands, but it can’t be reduced to moralism: I respect everyone and don’t do anything bad to anyone. Faith includes love for God, active commitment for a more human world, hope of eternal life, thanksgiving, celebration.
Neither is faith a tranquilizer. Yes, it can bring us peace and serenity, but faith isn’t an emergency remedy for critical moments, as in: “When I find myself in trouble, I go to the Blessed Virgin.” To believe is the best stimulus to keep fighting, working and living in a dignified and responsible way.
Christian faith comes from meeting with Jesus. The Christian is a person who meets Christ, and goes on discovering in him a God who is Love, a God who draws me close. John says it beautifully: “We have recognized for ourselves, and put our faith in the love God has for us. God is love” (1 John 4,16).
This faith grows and bears fruit only when we remain united to Christ day after day, that is to say, when we are motivated and sustained by his Spirit and his Word: “Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.”
Faith: not just a code of laws
Our fascination with ancient Egypt and its Pharaohs is not only about their wonderful buildings and sculptures, but also about their society. For here we had a whole people organised for one purpose, to secure the continuation of the Pharaoh in the next world. They surrounded their rulers’ burial with such detailed customs, laws and rituals, the purpose of which was to create the impression that the Pharaoh was still alive. They even placed food in his tomb, together with his favourite furniture, chariots, games and weapons. But the striking thing about mummies, whether royal or not, is that they are very, dead indeed. Religion too can degenerate into code and cult, just a set of laws to be kept and rites to be fulfilled, but such a religion will in time become dry and musty, and like the mummies utterly devoid of life. A celebrity was asked on a T.V. religious programme about the place of religion on his life, and if he could easily do without it, and he answered, “Yes, maybe, but then it is always a guide to help one keep in line.” For him religion was a code to help him regulate his conduct. People of that mindset often want religion to be mummified, like a static signpost in their lives. But, if it means anything, Christianity must be a living, a vibrant force in one’s life. Not only does Christ live on in the community of believers, but through them, he carries on his mission of ministering to people in need of his mercy and love.
In those who spread the words of the gospel to others, whether in the mission fields, in the parish, in our schools, we have the fulfilment of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper, “That they may know the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” In every instruction in the faith, given and received, we have a figure of Christ restoring his sight to the poor man, who at first beheld people dimly, as if they were trees, and then came to see clearly. In every sinner who comes to repentance we see, as it were, Lazarus raised once more from the dead, casting off the shroud of sin that enveloped him. In every coming together around the Table of the Eucharist, we, like the Apostles are witnesses before the whole world to the task, entrusted to us by Christ, of proclaiming his death and resurrection until he comes at the end of time. Christianity is not, and never should be, mere code or mere cult.
If you see Christianity as a code — “you must do this, you must avoid that, you must be present at this Mass” — is one often heard — then it is possible to begin to credit your account before God by claiming, “I attend Mass, I observe this law, I have progressed so much on the way you require of me.” It is possible to reach the stage where you begin to see yourself as being perfect, with no further need of a saviour. But, alas, such an assessment of one’s standing before God is precisely that of the Pharisees, of whom Christ said to his listeners, “I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:20). True Christianity is the vision of ourselves as being encompassed by God’s love, that despite our faults, God loves us to the point of foolishness, to the point of death on a cross. If we believe in Christ, God is ready to regard us as his children and friends. Friends do not ask for literal commands, but from their personal acquaintance with the one that loves them, they try and understand his half-words. From love of him they try and anticipate his wishes.
If we see our lives as a response to the immense love God has for us, then there will no longer be constraint. Rather will religion have a liberating effect in our lives. We will enjoy what scripture describes as “the liberty of the children of God.” But then again, so great is the love of God for us that we will see our efforts at responding to that love as always falling short of what we desire. The trouble with those who see their lives as blameless is that they have limited vision.
Machtnamh: Cén fáth go bhfuil gá le bearradh (Why pruning is needed)
Tá fhios ag na daoine a chothaionn rósanna go gcaithfear na plandaí a bearradh gach blian más mian leo fás maith a bheith iontu. Is fíor sin don chuid is mó de plandaí mar an chéanna; cabhraíonn an bhearradh leis an shaol nua. Tagraíonn Íosa le bearradh sa soiscéal inniú. Tugann sé le fios go ndéanann Dia bearradh ar ár saol ó am go h’am, chun iad a dhéanamh níos fiúnta ná mar atá siad faoi láthair. Tá roinnt rudaí ann a gur chóir a dhíbirt, má’s mian linn bheith cóir i láthair Dé. Thárlódh sé go mba thairfí an rud é scaoileadh le rudaí áirithe , cé gur leasg linn ag an am, a cabhródh linn cur len ár gcaidreamh le Dia agus le daoine eile. Nuair a déantar an bearradh seo is giorra dúinn bíonn an Tiarna, i bhfocail an tsoiscéil, déanann sé cónái linn. Ní gá dúinn a bheith ag brath ar ár neart féin. Nuair a bhíonn an Tiarna ag cur faoi ionainn bíonn Sé taobh linn, rud a thugann saol nua níos torthúla dúinn. Ach chun go dtarlódh seo ní mór dúinn fanacht in a láthair mar a fhanann sé linne.
