Friends, the Lord Jesus Christ is not a teacher from a distant age, not someone from long ago we remember fondly, not a moral exemplar; rather, he is a field of force. We don’t just listen to him or imitate him; we live in him. Our Gospel for this Fifth Sunday of Easter gives us one of the most beautiful and powerful images for this truth: Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. But there is a dark side to this wonderful organic imagery: the Father is the vine grower, and he is going to prune away all that is in us that is preventing the life of Christ from manifesting itself.
Watch It’s Time for Some Pruning - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon Here
GOSPEL
Fifth Sunday of Easter
John 15:1–8
Friends, our passage today is from the beautiful, evocative, and challenging fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. Jesus declares that he is the vine and we are the branches. He is the power and energy source in which we live. This vine and branches image is closely related, therefore, to Paul’s metaphor of the Body of Christ.
The point is that we live in him and he in us. Jesus is the source of supernatural life in us, and without him we would have none of it. If you are separated from the vine, you will die spiritually; if you are connected to it, you will live a supernatural life.
What does this mean concretely? It means a steady immersion in the prayer of the Church and steady communion with God, speaking to him on a regular basis. It means an immersion in the Scriptures and soaking in the truth of the Bible. It means engaging in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
And you must participate in the sacraments—especially Confession and the Eucharist. By the sacraments, we stay close to the Christ who forgives our sins and enlivens our spirits.