Bearing good fruits in Christ

Bearing good fruits in Christ

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church

May 6, 2012

In last Sunday’s gospel reading taken from John 10:11-18, Jesus says of himself, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” In today’s gospel which is taken from John 15:1-8, Jesus declares, “I am the true vine...” Our Lord is the Good Shepherd who cares and loves the sheep so much to the point of offering his very life for the sheep. And if we want him to be our Shepherd, then we must remain a sheep, for a wolf has no shepherd. Jesus is also the true vine, and his Father, our Father is the vine grower. And we his disciples are the branches. The branches cannot bear fruits unless they remain part of the vine tree. The vine tree, its branches, and the grower of the vine have a relationship of love. The branches need the vine tree to survive, the vine and its branches need the grower to look after them. Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus was constantly in touch with his Father through prayer. On earth, he was not doing his own thing but the will of his Father. His Father’s will was his own will. His Father’s wish was his command. His Father’s will was his food. The relationship between him and his Father was so close and so deep that he declared, “Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father” (John 14: 9). Jesus’ relationship with his Father is never questionable. The Father’s love for the Son is not in doubt. In Matthew 3:17, the Father says, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” Even Jesus testified of his Father’s love for him in John 10:17, “My Father loves me because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.”

What is questionable sometimes is our love and relationship with Jesus. Jesus says he is the true vine and we are the branches. Therefore, for us to bear good and lasting fruits, we must remain in the vine- Jesus: “Whoever remains in me, and I in him will bear much fruit because without me you can do nothing.” The image of electricity and the bulb will help us understand more what our Lord is saying. Just as electricity provides the power necessary for the bulb to burn, so the vine provides the life necessary for the branches to produce fruits. A house cannot have light unless it is connected to the very source of electricity. We cannot have the virtuous fruits of the Spirit unless we are connected to Jesus the true vine. As long as we are connected to Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit can run into us keeping us alive and thriving. But if we dismember ourselves from Jesus, we will not be able to produce life-sustaining and life-giving fruits. This could lead to spiritual dormancy and inactivity. In the end, it can lead to loss of faith; it can lead to loss of the sense of the sacred  and the loss of the sense of God. Catholics who do not produce fruits expected of the children of the resurrection are a threat to Christianity; they can harm the Body of Christ and expose our faith to ridicule. Their action can make more converts for atheism than atheists are able to do. What are the fruits expected of a Christian? Galatians 5:22 says, “The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” 

To bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, we must remain in Christ Jesus. We must renew our relationship with him on a daily basis through prayer. The secret to the faithfulness of Jesus was his constant contact with his Father. Over and over again, he would withdraw into a lonely place to pray. For us to be able to keep and maintain constant contact with Jesus, we must pray and attend Masses. At Mass we  encounter Jesus both in the Word and in the Eucharist. Prayer doesn’t have to be about asking. Asking for one favor or the other is just one aspect of prayer. Prayer is being in the presence of God. It involves making out time to be silent and to acknowledge the presence of God. We must make out time to turn off the TV, radio, the phones, the computer and just think about God. For those of us who find it very difficult to concentrate, to meditate and to pray, let me suggest a practice that can help. Place two chairs (seats) facing each other. Sit on one, then invite Jesus to sit on the other. Believe in your heart that he is sitting on the other. Close your eyes and then talk to him. If you have nothing to say to him, still shut your eyes and remain silent for a while. If you want to talk to him but don’t know what to say, you can say repeatedly, “Jesus, I love you” or “Jesus, I need you” or  something else. Remember the injunction of St. Paul, “Walk by faith and not by sight.”

A good disciple of Jesus Christ makes out time for the Lord. He/she understands that prayer is touching God. Prayer is the oil of the Christian life. If there is no oil in a running car, it is only a matter of time before there is a mechanical meltdown. In the same way, when a Christian goes on without prayer, without connecting with Christ, it is only a matter of time before he or she suffers spiritual meltdown. With constant contact with Jesus through prayer, studying and meditating on the Word of God (Bible), and attending Masses regularly, the Christian enriches his or her life, and his or her contact with the Lord enables him or her to be a fruitful branch. In the end, he or she radiates the glory of God. His or her life makes others want to serve the God that makes him or her the way he or she is. The life of a fruitful child of God gives glory to God. Such a life demonstrates the goodness of God; it bears testimony to the good God. Our greatest achievement is that by remaining in Christ and producing good fruits we bring glory to our God who is good at all times.