Close your eyes for a moment and picture the beautiful
vineyards of northern California. Then
zoom in on just one plant, one vine.
Hold that image in your mind.
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking to his disciples
just after the Last Supper, before his arrest.
He uses the striking image of the vine and its branches to give his
disciples a sense of the relationship he has tried to nurture with his
followers, one in which the vine itself nourishes the branches--as Jesus
nourishes us with his Word--so that the branches can bear much fruit. And then he
exhorts his followers, Remain in me, as I
remain in you.
What does it mean to remain
in another being? Jesus remains in us if we allow his Word to
permeate our lives, if we let his presence transform us from within. Doing so allows us to let go of all that is
unnecessary in our lives, so that we can hold fast to the essential, which is
God’s infinite Love that fills us. And
how do we remain in Jesus? We must trust, open our hearts, and live our
lives in the context of that relationship.
Jesus is saying that there is no real life separate from God’s love, no life
that is full and aware. To remain in Jesus is to remain on the vine, allowing that Love
to flow through us to Other, so that, through that Love, we might bear much fruit.
As you hold the image of the vine in your mind’s eye, take
note of the essential dependence of the vine and its branches, and remember
Jesus’ refrain: Remain in me… Remain in me… Remain in me… Remain in me…
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