April 29, 2018

Gospel: Jn 15:1-8
I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower. If any of my branches doesn’t bear fruit, he breaks it off; and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit. You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you don’t remain in me. I am the vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not remain in me is thrown away, as they do with branches, and they wither. Then they are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you. My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit: it is then that you become my disciples.

Lectio Divina
Read: Christ wins Saul over and Saul becomes a firm believer. John invites all Christians to love in truth and deed. If we abide in Jesus, the true vine, we shall become his branches and produce fruit worthy of God.
Reflect: Unlike many other plants, the vine and its branches share a special, unique relationship – you can never identify where the stem of the vine ends and a branch begins. It is as if the stem is the branch. Hence, the metaphor of vine and the branches brings out a unique relationship between Jesus and us: for those who abide in him, one can never know where Christ ends and they begin. The truth is, in those who truly abide in Christ, it is Christ all the way. With Paul, they can sing, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
Pray: Lord Jesus, abide in me so that I become you.
Act: Draw up an image that captures your present relationship with Christ. How far or near is that image from the relationship between vine and the branches?

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018