The Vine and the Branches

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Someone finally figured out what to do with old grape vines. If one visits a retail hobby or craft store, one can purchase rustic looking wreaths made of these otherwise useless bits of wood. Until this innovation appeared on the scene, the wood of the grape vine was considered completely useless. No carpenter could fashion it into anything useful. It wasn't even good as fuel to heat one's home or cook one's food. From one perspective, this is exactly the message that Jesus wishes to impart by his assertion that he is the vine and we are the branches. Without him, we are useless.

St. John's Gospel Is also the product of the community out of which it sprang. So we must also take into consideration the historical reality of the community of the Beloved Disciple. When we do, the word "remain" takes on special significance. The community of the Beloved Disciple was torn apart by the Gnostic heresy. The Gnostics were a group of Christians who believed that they were different or better than the ordinary Christian. They were elitists, separatists, secessionists. This Gospel passage speaks directly to them. Separating one's self from the community, the mystical body of Christ, was spiritual suicide. St. John's Gospel frequently reminds us that we must remain in Christ if we wish Christ to remain in us.

St. John's Gospel, unlike the synoptic Gospels, contains no parables. Though this passage is properly called a "discourse" rather than a parable, it speaks an eternal truth in the agricultural language Jesus' contemporaries would readily understand, much the same as the synoptic parables. The message is timeless. Remaining in Christ is our only real option.