Fifth Sunday in Easter B

The speaker begins by expressing joy in sharing the Gospel and wishes everyone a Happy Easter. They encourage the listeners to prepare themselves for encountering Jesus through prayerful reflection on the Scriptures. The speaker introduces the practice of Lectio Divina, which involves reading a passage from Scripture and allowing the Holy Spirit to move through the words. They focus on the Gospel reading from John, where Jesus declares himself as the true vine and his disciples as the branches. The speaker explains the significance of this image and its connection to God's chosen people in the Hebrew scriptures. They invite the listeners to engage in meditation on the passage, drawing parallels to the story of The Little Prince and the concept of creating ties in friendship. The speaker emphasizes the importance of patience and ritual in developing a deep connection with Jesus. They encourage the listeners to sit with the passage, allowing the word that speaks to them to take root in t Greetings, friends. What a joy to share the Gospel. Christ is risen. Truly He is risen. Happy Easter, everybody. Our Easter season Gospel readings continue to place before us vivid, vibrant, vital words of the risen Christ to nourish us and draw us into His divine life. Let's prepare ourselves to encounter, yet again and still, Jesus, the living risen Lord, mediated to us through prayerful reflection on the Scriptures. We take a moment to intentionally yield our spirits to the Gospel by quieting our inner selves. If you will, take a deep breath slowly in and slowly out. Come, Lord Jesus. Allow Your Holy Spirit to bring Your Word to life in me. May I hear Your voice, Good Shepherd. The ancient prayer of Lectio Divina invites us, first of all, simply to read a passage from Scripture. In reading, we begin to become familiar with the Word so as to open ourselves increasingly to what is beyond that Word, to the movement of the Holy Spirit carried on the words of the Gospel. On this first Sunday of Easter, we read from John's Gospel, chapter 15, verses 1 through 8. Jesus said to His disciples, I am the vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does, He prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither. People will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. For the seventh and final time, Jesus uses the solemn self-predication, I am, to initiate His disciples into the truth of His divinity. Last week we heard Him say, I am the Good Shepherd. Here He declares, I am the true vine. This image draws the listener into the deep, organic, intimate connection of the relationship between a vine and its branches. The first time He uses it, Jesus emphasizes His intimate with the Father. I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower. The second time He says it, the image emphasizes the relationship between Himself and His disciples. I am the vine and you are the branches. Throughout this teaching of Jesus, there is, Fr. Gerhardt Lohfink insists, a clear admonition being addressed to His disciples. It is, according to Fr. Lohfink, especially characterized by the key words remain and bear fruit. This image of the vine is about intimate relationship characterized by a deep, abiding, mutual remaining that bears the fruit of eternal life and generosity. It is significant, I think, to recognize that Jesus has received this image of the vine from the rich Jewish heritage of the Hebrew scriptures. There, God often spoke of His chosen people as a vineyard. See, for instance, Isaiah chapter 5. The opening verse of that passage gives this voice. It says, quote, Now let me sing of my friend, my beloved's song about his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside, close quote. Notice how the prophet is speaking, singing of his friend. Who is his friend? Well, it's God. And what is God singing? He's singing a love song about a vineyard. Jesus, in solemnly declaring of Himself, I am the true vine, identifies Himself as the fulfillment of God's saving work to fashion a people after His own heart. Let us turn again for a second time now to read our gospel passage. Notice as we do what stands out to you. Become sensitive to a word or phrase or what moves your imagination. In that word that moves you, Jesus is revealing Himself, present and risen from the dead. We read John 15, verses 1 through 8. Jesus said to His disciples, I am the vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does, He prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither. People will gather them and throw them into a fire, and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. We come now to the second step of Lectio Divina, which is, after the reading, meditation. By meditating, we pause before the word, surrendering to the movement of the Spirit carried on that word. Become curious now about what is moving within you from this passage. What is speaking to you at this moment? This call of Jesus to remain in him has, for some reason or another, brought my mind to that wonderful classic story, The Little Prince. Do you remember it? Remember the little prince, far from home, finds himself lonely and seeking friendship when he comes upon a fox. The little boy asks the fox if he might be his friend. The fox responds, telling the boy it is impossible because he is a wild fox. But how can I make you my friend, the little prince pushes in. The fox says that to be your friend, I must be tamed. The boy doesn't know what the word tame means. To tame one, the fox reveals, one must create ties. What a beautiful phrase, create ties. These ties will bind the fox to the boy, the boy to the fox. They will become special to each other, depending on each other even. To bring it to our gospel, they will desire to remain and abide with one another. But how, the boy asks, do we create such ties? The fox says it demands patience. You, sitting far off, looking gently at me, and I looking back, and slowly we draw closer and closer together. It needs, too, the fox insists, rituals. You should come back, he tells the boy, every day at the same time, ritually, so that I can count on you, look forward to it, anticipate your arrival. Isn't this just marvelous, friends? Jesus, for God our Father, seeks to tame us by creating ties that bind us to him. Through patient observance of the ritual practice of daily prayer, regular sharing in the sacraments, pondering the scriptures, we are increasingly tied in friendship to our Lord Jesus Christ, anchored in Jesus like branches to the vine. Friends, please remain with this gospel passage a bit longer, patiently sitting with Jesus, drawing on the word that speaks most to you. Allow Jesus to tie himself to you. Before leaving prayer, be sure to intentionally place the word you have received deep in your spirit, where the Lord might bring it growth throughout this week ahead. And friends, it is a joy to share the gospel with you. Happy Easter.