Last Sunday we heard Jesus proclaim himself as The Good Shepherd and all of us as his flock. In the gospel of today’s Mass we hear another of Jesus’ “I am” statements – in this instance Jesus proclaiming: “I am the true vine” – and teaching us that we are branches that bear fruit (John 15:1-8).
The vine and branches metaphor helps us to realize that Jesus is our life-force, that we live only in, through, and with Jesus just as branches receive their life and sustenance from the vine. The metaphor suggests that we must stay “attached” to Jesus as we journey through this world. Jesus tells us “if we remain in him, he will remain in us”. Jesus is assuring us that he is always here for us. He is the vine that nourishes and sustains us and allows us to grow and mature in our faith and all other aspects of our life.
The vine and branches metaphor also reminds us that as disciples of Jesus we are here to “bear fruit” for God – to serve God by serving each other through acts of kindness, compassion, charity, and justice. And Jesus tells us that the more we open ourselves to him – the more we remain attached to the vine – the more we will be cultivated to bear more and more fruit.
It’s interesting that Jesus does not simply say that he is the “vine”, but that he is the “true vine”. This is a reminder that sometimes we can attach ourselves to false vines – those things that we think give us happiness and wholeness but end up being fleeting, empty, and meaningless. It is only in Jesus – the true vine – that we find real happiness, wholeness, and fulfillment. Jesus himself reminds us “without me you can do nothing”.
And of course, Jesus is talking about all of us being branches of the one true vine. Jesus is not talking about multiple vines. There is only one vine. And all of us, as branches of this one vine, make up the one body of Christ, living in relationship together, intertwined and dependent on each other, looking after and caring for one another.
And finally, in the last line of this gospel passage, we find what could be the most important point that Jesus teaches us – that if we remain in him, if we stay attached to him, if we live our lives in accordance with his teaching and his example, if we bear fruit for him – in the end we glorify God and reveal God to others.
So we go forward as living branches of the one true vine, allowing Jesus to share his divine life with us, to nourish and sustain us. We continue onward with our hearts and minds open to God’s grace so that Jesus can remain in us, and so that we can live in ways that reveal him to others.