Fifth Sunday of Easter Homily

Our parish this weekend is joyfully celebrating the baptisms of 10 children. The new branches of the vine. As we welcome them into the family of God, we realize that the vineyard is growing and that means more pruning on the part of the grower.

The Lord says, “You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.” Pruning a vine is an important part of helping it to grow and produce not only abundant fruit but the best fruit. If left unpruned, a grapevine will eventually produce less fruit and poorer quality fruit. Good pruning helps to direct the nourishment of the vine to the new buds that are most fruitful.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus applies the image of the vine to Himself and the relationship with His disciples. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. Without the nutrients, moisture, and support offered by the vine, the branches wither and die. The image of Christ, the vine, reminds us that we are loved, sustained, redeemed, and sanctified through the person of Christ and that, cut off from him, we are, quite simply, good for nothing (cf. Jn 15:5).

This image teaches us that, just as the vine sustains the branches, enabling them to bear fruit, so too Christ sustains and nourishes us so that we will be fruitful. And, just as the best fruit comes from careful pruning, we, too, need pruning from time to time. Diseased branches and wild shoots drain life and infect other branches, so unhealthy growth must be removed, and good growth needs to be encouraged.

Pruning can be painful, but we must have faith and trust in God, the vine grower, who has a better plan for us. This plan will require sacrifice, humility, forgiveness, patience in the face of trial, overcoming selfishness, and doing things we don’t feel like doing.

We may have developed harmful habits in our lives, unwanted growths that sap our energy and diminish our fruitfulness. Sometimes, God even makes charitable acts that seem unpleasant as a way of pruning your motivations and making them purer, based more on faith than on emotion. When we listen attentively to the Word of God and let it take root in us, we are pruned to become stronger, healthier, and more fruitful branches of the true vine.

The image of the vine also illustrates that Christ needs us. We are the branches, and it is the branches that bear the grapes. Yes, Christ depends on us to produce the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Each of these fruits will have the effect of transforming us more fully into images of God in the world. Take a moment to reflect on each of those fruits of the Holy Spirit and allow God’s grace to make your life fruitful.

The secret of bearing fruit is ‘remaining in’ Christ. It means living in an intimate ‘I-thou’ relationship with Christ, who has made his home in us (Jn 15:4).

Ultimately, it means living in love, the same love that unites the Father and the Son: ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, remain in my love’ (Jn 15:9). Brethren, to remain in the love of Christ, we must regularly study the Word of God as it is revealed through the Scriptures and the catechetical teachings of the Church, deepening our prayer life, receiving the sacraments, and lovingly serving others.

Fr. Clement Piruwa