Be Pruned to be Fruitful: Acts 9:26-31; 1 Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8

 

Be Pruned to be Fruitful

Acts 9:26-31; 1 Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8

Whoever remains in me, and I in him, bears fruit in plenty, says the Lord. Alleluia (DO) 

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches in metaphor of vine and branches.  The image of the vine has a religious connotation. Isaiah spoke of the house of Israel as “the vineyard of the Lord” (Is 5:7). Jeremiah said that God had planted Israel “as his choice vine” (Jer 2:21) and the Scriptures sees it as a sign of degeneration - a deformed state of spiritual growth and moral decline. Jesus calls himself the true vine and he makes clear that no one can grow spiritual unless they are pruned and well rooted in his life-giving word.

Religious duties or pious activities are not sufficient by themselves, rather one must be firmly rooted in the “Tree of Life” (Rev 22:1-2, Gen 2:8-9). This “Tree of life is the only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who abides in the Father. Jesus is the true source of life that sustains us and makes us fruitful in living the abundant life. Jesus came to give us life in abundance (Jn 10:10). It is only through Jesus Christ that one can be fully grafted into the true “vineyard of the Lord”. Jesus can only offer true life.

How does the vine become fruitful? The vine dresser must carefully prune the vine before it can bear good fruit. Vines characteristically have two kinds of branches - those which bear fruit and those which don’t. The non-bearing branches must be carefully pruned back in order that the vine conserve its strength for bearing good fruit. It means that we need to be pruned in order to grow. Sometimes, we need to encounter adversity, trials, and suffering in order that we might bear more fruit in our lives. The wise gardener prunes the plants for its good. God in his infinite wisdom sends us times of adversity and suffering which is intended for our good and growth. His desire is always that we might bear more much fruit.

The apostle James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (Js 1:2-3). Similarly, Paul in his letter to the Hebrews says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hb 12:11).

When we go through testing times, we should have confidence that our heavenly Father is pruning us for our own good. However unpleasant it is, we can trust that the Lord is working for our good. The key question for us is, how do we choose to respond in times of trial and adversity? Will we choose to be angry with God, and turn away from him? Or will we choose to respond with faith and trust, knowing that he alone is able to turn our every adversity to good? Jesus says there can be no fruit in our lives apart from him. The fruit he speaks of here is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). 

Come Holy Spirit, Fill Your Faithful!!!