Gospel of John 15:5

Couched in the simple agricultural image of the vine, Jesus speaks a strong message of unity. Most of us have a pretty concrete understanding of the term unity. Every family; every country; every church is a grouping of many into one. This is a good thing when people are united in the right spirit. The spirit of unity was poured out on the entire world by Christ. It is this spirited message that we celebrate in today’s scripture about the vine and the branches.

As branches of the true vine, our job is to bear good fruit, but we cannot do this on our own. We must stay tightly grafted to Jesus who is the vine. The unity Jesus promotes depends on our unity with one another in Him; with being one human tree united in Christ.

The Acts of the Apostles also speaks of unity, the gradual growing up of the church in the early years of Christianity. The apostles were charged with the mission of leading others to unity in the risen Lord.

Today’s gospel is a sort of “how to” for bearing good fruit. St. John tells us that our unity with God can be measured by the way we keep God’s commandments; especially by the way we actively and concretely love one another. Then, we will be truly united to the vine who is Christ.

We need to make a special effort to strive for true unity with all members in our community. Let your faith be marked by a genuine openness and inclusiveness, and by down-to-earth deeds enacted by down-to-earth folks. Join together-tight to the vine-to bear the good fruit of unity.

Today’s society suffers from fragmentation and divisiveness. I dare say this is due to the pervasive spirit of greed and selfishness that infects much of human behavior today. What is needed is a different spirit to replace the spirit of divisiveness; that is a spirit of unity that draws all of us together, back to where we belong as children of the one God.

Fr. Hugh Duffy