We are the branches on the vine of Jesus

Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 John 15, 1-8 The vine and the branches, not much different from the sheep and the shepherd. These past few Sundays of Easter Jesus has been talking to us about the importance of being united to him; like a sheep with his shepherd or a vine with it’s branches. Jesus uses these images quite simply to show that he loves us, to show his deep care of us; like a shepherd for his sheep or a vine with it’s branches. Jesus wants us to be united to him because he loves us. The same is true with our celebration of the Eucharist. In the first few weeks of Easter the Gospels talked about the centrality of the Eucharist. Jesus gave himself in the bread and wine so that we might be united with him because of his love for us. That’s what all these images are; they are about God’s love for us and it’s manifestation through Jesus. As I said we understand these images. We do want Jesus to be our good shepherd, we are willing to be his sheep if this means that Jesus will take care of us. We do want to be branches connected to Jesus the one true vine because that is what will give us life. And finally we desire to be one with Jesus in the gift of the Eucharist. That is why we are here today, to recieve his body to be one with him. But there is an important point that I think runs through all of these images.I am not the branch on a vine. We are branches on the vine. Which means we not only have a relationship with Jesus, we also have a relationship with one another. Jesus doesn’t just love me, Jesus loves us. I am not the sheep with my shepherd. No we are sheep with one shepherd. Again, we are not alone, we are sheep together and Jesus gives his life for us. Finally we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist, to recieve the bread of life. If we believe Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine, we also must believe that Jesus is present in one another. It is hard enough to be united to Jesus, but it is even more challenging to be united with one another. But that is what it means to be a Catholic Christian. We also know of the great blessing in being united to Jesus, but you know what? It is also a great blessing to be united to one another. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t do it on my own. I need you, you all help to keep me faithful to Christ the Good shepherd, you help me to be joined like branches on a vine, you feed me when we gather to celebrate the eucharist. But how do we do this? How do we remain united to Christ the one true vine? How do we come together as sheep in one shepfold? What is it that we can do to be one in the Eucharist? You can find the answer in the second reading for today. It is also the continuation of John’s 15th Chapter which we won’t read until next Sunday. The second reading, also from St. John tells us: “And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.” So the commandment is twofold, we have to believe in Jesus and we must love one another. We must believe in Jesus and love one another. Belief is what grafts us on the vine. Because we believe Jesus we are joined to Jesus, that is the beginning, which happened at baptism, and the way we stay united to vine and to one another is through love. Our love for one another. What John does so well in our second reading is he holds together what we tend to separate: faith and works, belief and obedience, prayer to God and love for one another. It is not a matter of either/or but a both/and. If we believe in Jesus we will love one another. If we love on another we believe in Jesus. This is the great challenge of the Christian community. But is also the great promise. I strive to love you which will unite you with Jesus but at the same time you love me which binds me to Jesus. This last year really is a microcosm of our Christian life. I know that I couldn’t have survived this year without you, without your love. You have bound me more closely to Jesus. I hope you know that I love you and not just because your nice people but because I see Jesus in you. So let us continue what we have been doing. Let us keep loving one another and know that in our love we will be bound to another but more importantly we will be bound to Jesus.