My dear friends, today is the feast of St. Brigid of Sweden. Today’s gospel sees Jesus speaking metaphorically to his disciples. His words remind me of an African proverb which says that if a lizard departs from the tree of her habitat, little children will roughly mangle her. That is to say that the tree is her source of salvation and protection from every threat to life and danger of death.
Besides, due to the instinct for life preservation in every living thing, the lizard often clings to the tree to preserve her life. You can then understand the reason behind Jesus’ story of the vine and branches.
The Vine and Branches in Jesus’ Teaching
The metaphor of the vine depicts the fact that the branches of the vine completely depend on the vine for their sustenance. The vine is the source of their life. Without the vine, there would be no branches and they would not have life. If the branches are to live and bear fruit, they must necessarily and completely depend on the vine for their nourishment, support, strength, maintenance, and vitality. That implies that without Jesus in our lives, we are nothing. There is nothing we can achieve without him. This is because Jesus, according to the sacred scripture, is ‘the Alpha and the Omega.’ He is ‘the beginning and the end’; ‘the first and the last’ (Rev 22:13).
Jesus expressed the vital importance and unity between the vine and the branches when he says: ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5).
Causes of Detachment of a Branch to Avoid
Jesus is aware of the challenges we, the branches of the vine, can face as his followers. He knows the weaknesses and the strengths of the branches. He emphasized the fact of remaining in him and him in us because he does not want to lose anyone. The Lord knows that anything can happen at any time especially when a branch or a follower is affected by a disease or other dangers of life. The disease(s) can come in the form of competition among the branches and other vices of life.
Therefore, any disciple who wants to be united with Christ must shun the vices and diseases common in the world. They have ruined some disciples of Christ like Judas Iscariot. He was affected by the disease of funds that detached him from his master and prompted him to betray him. The disease has been the downfall of many servants of God, missionaries, and disciples of Christ. It has also been the downfall of many world leaders and public servants.
Once a disciple – a branch of Christ – begins to glory in any of the vices, he or she is most likely to break away from the vine who is Christ himself. We must, therefore, guide against the vices that can detach us from the true vine. We can only bear fruit if we remain part of him. And he has assured us that if we remain in him and his words remain in us, we shall not lack as we shall get whatever we ask of him.
Conclusion
As Christians, we are among the most fortunate people on earth because of our faith, but often we do not realize it. We are most blessed and favoured to have Jesus as our Master and Savior. He is the source of our being. He is our ‘be all and end all,’ always there to support us and in Him, according to St Paul, we live, move and have our being. We must be attached to our Master Jesus to lead us safely to our destination of eternal life in his kingdom.
Peace be with you!
[Readings for Tuesday Week 16: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Matthew 12:46-50]
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