Readings:
Acts 15:1-6
John 15:1-8
Reflection:
There’s an old olive tree in the Holy Land, gnarled and weather-beaten, its bark split by centuries of wind and sun. But from its roots, year after year, young shoots still sprout. Some of them are ancient branches twisted into the trunk; others are fresh, supple green stems that shimmer in the light. If you were to look closely, you wouldn’t be able to say where the trunk ends and the branch begins. They are one living thing, one flow of sap, one story of growth.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers us one of the most tender and profound images of who we are in Him. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” And in this image, He’s not simply giving us a metaphor of dependence, He’s revealing something far more intimate: there is no life, no identity for the branch apart from the vine because the vine and the branches are, in truth, one and the same living reality.
So closely are we united with Jesus that to speak of one is to speak of the other. Our identity is not just “alongside” Christ, it is in Christ. When Jesus says, “Remain in me as I remain in you,” He is expressing not just a relationship, but a shared being, an inseparable communion of life.
Our baptisms, our prayers, our sufferings, our joy — they are not outside Jesus. They are within Him. To abide in Him, then, is not to try harder. It is to let ourselves be held.
So, if you feel fruitless, stay connected. If you feel dry, open your soul to the life of the vine. If you feel forgotten, remember you are not just near Christ, you are part of Him. The vine is the branches. That is our deepest identity.
Giltus Mathias CP is a Passionist priest at St Brigid, Marrickville.