I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. John 15:1-11.
In the Gospel reading from today’s Daily Office, we find Jesus talking about His favorite topic: relationships. I think Jesus cared more deeply about this subject than virtually any other, and perhaps we should, too. In this remarkable passage, Jesus addresses our relationships with Him, with God the Father, and with each other. I believe the refrain within this passage provides the key to Jesus’ meaning. St. John uses the word “abide” eight times, so we should probably understand the sense in which he uses it.
One of the greatest problems we encounter in modernity is that vast number of people who feel adrift, who feel isolated from the world and cut off from anything that offers meaning in their lives. As Willy Loman observed in Death of a Salesman, “After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.” Jesus compared such lives to a branch cut away from the vine, which will ultimately wither. He observed that “the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine”.
All of us sometimes feel cut off from our source, and Jesus offers us the remedy: “abide in me”, “abide in my love”. Too often, we try to make our way alone. We forget that relationships provide the very basis of the spiritual life. To “abide with” means to participate in a very special sort of relationship. To abide with Jesus and to abide in His love means that we will make Christ our spiritual home.
As with all relationships, abiding with Jesus involves a reciprocal settlement, a complementary arrangement. Jesus said, “Abide in me as I abide in you.” Thus, we should ask ourselves, “What sort of dwelling place have I prepared for the Lord?” Jesus calls us not simply to remain with Him, but also to make a home for Him in our lives. Unless we permit this mutual indwelling of Christ, we will find ourselves spiritually “dying on the vine”.
St. John does not suggest that we admire Jesus as a historical figure from the past, or that we attempt to emulate something that was quite wonderful once. To abide with Christ does not mean that we merely prepare for that day in the future when we might see Him. Abiding with Jesus means to make our home with Him here and now. The term implies persevering, remaining true, and lasting steadily. When we abide with Christ, we will share St. Paul’s conviction “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.
Abiding connotes that we will remain with Jesus, and He will remain with us. Like the branches on the vine, our continued existence depends on remaining connected to the Source of our lives. If we allow the Word to make a home within our lives, we will feel the Divine pulsing and surging across all creation. At that point, this holy relationship begins to determine how we act and how we love. Thus, keeping the commandments becomes less like a burden, and more like a presence. We are thereby grafted onto the tree of life, grafted onto the life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I think that’s exactly what St. John had in mind when he wrote about a time when our joy would be complete.
I wish you the joy of God’s presence,
James R. Dennis, O.P.
© 2012 James R. Dennis
Domini Canes 
All that we are is in relationship with all that is. We rise from the same elements that are God. Our souls share the same original energy. I think the original meaning of sin was “separation” — and I think our separation is only in our imagination.
Barbara,
I think you’re right: we are never as distant, nor as separate as we think.
God bless,
Br. James
I have a fine that glows with growth in spinrg, is shady and green in summer and in Autumn is glorious in reds and golds. In winter it is bare and has been half pruned.But I look out the window and it is just growing….not shaking in its shoes but accepting the seasons of life and that essential core vine grows stronger all the time.
Richard,
I hope someday we’re all like that vine.
God’s peace,
Br. James
Turning over our lives to Christ means that we trust that we are living his will. Our home is within him. Ultimate joy comes from connection with him. Thank you, Brother.
Sister,
You’re most welcome, and I think you’re right about ultimate (and lasting) joy.
Pax et bonum,
Br. James
Awesome post! Thank you for teaching me and revealing more to me of what “abide” really means. God Bless!
Michelle,
I’m so glad you liked the piece. I wish you the deep, abiding sense of His presence.
Pax,
Br. James
Amen. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh into the Father but by Him. Let your light so shine bofree men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.God bless ate and keep the faith.
Amen, Temen.
God watch over thee and me,
Br. James
Amen, amen, amen! When I read “the term implies persevering, remaining true, and lasting steadily” I thought of my grapevine that is just starting to re-awaken. There was a branch that had been pruned off in the fall, on the ground, and I was just recently noting that it looked just like the rest of the vine that is still intact. The difference is that, now that the sun is warming, it is still dead, while the rest of the plant is bursting with new life … because it was still connected to the plant. Like we who, sometimes have seasons of a seeming lack of growth, but, because we remain connected to the vine, we eventually will burst with the life we are connected to! Thanks for making me re-look at my relationship with Jesus today!
Blessings,
Carole
Carole,
Of course, you’re most welcome. I think remaining connected to the vine offers the key to a really “fruitful” spiritual life, and probably offers the best answer to those who say they’re “spiritual but not religious.” It’s too easy, when not actively involved in common worship and our life in community, to become a “lone ranger”. There’s great peril in there, in the long term. Admitedly, there are some sick relationships in the church as well, but I think even in troubled congregations, there are bright spots where the light of Christ shines through clearly.
Thanks for your regular support and encouragement,
Pax Christi,
Br. James
James, I often re-read the posts on successive days. This one is getting a lot of use! I sincerely hope you are gathering these for a time when they will be published on actual paper and can be used as daily devotions. Next time you see me be prepared for me to “pester” you about it.
Mike,
Others have suggested that I might publish these. I’m not sure, and there are a few impediments. But I appreciate the thought, and moreover, I appreciate your friendship.
Shalom,
Br. James
Jaime:
Thank you for this. Very timely for me brother.
-Eric
My brother,
I’m very glad you found it useful. Good luck on the team!
Pax et bonum,
Br. James
Cafeteria Catholic. That’s me. The Church may have been started by Christ, but it’s been run by gaedrn variety MEN for over 2000 years. If you can’t see the hypocrisy of being told to pray for the sanctity of marriage during Mass and then invited to a lecture on annulment after Mass you be blind! Talk about your Harry Potter magic – an annulment means “poof!” the marriage never happened! Like re-growing your hymen. I’m going to hell, aren’t I?
Hiroaki,
I get the sense that there’s more than a little pain behind some of that anger.
As to whether you’re going to hell, fortunately, I’m not involved in that decision making process. But I know a way out of hell. In following the Source, we can find our way back.
I wish you peace and grace,
Br. James