Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

The True Vine And The Living Branches

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, April 28, 2024

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven announcements of himself that are commonly called the I AM Statements: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48, 51), “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12, John 9:5), “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7, John 10:9), “I am the good shepherd,” (John 10:11; John 10:14), “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6), “I am the true vine” (John 15: 1, John 15: 5). What do all these statements point to? The fact that Jesus is not merely an inspiring teacher we listen to. For us Christians, Jesus is the be-all and end-all of our life. As St. Paul keenly and rightly noted, it is in Jesus that “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). He is the reason why we are here. He is the reason why we are. He is the reason why we carry out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Jesus is the reason we forgive; he is the reason we are kind; he is the reason we are compassionate; he is the reason we strive to be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect. Our relationship with the Lord is not a one-off thing. It is organic and ongoing. From the lips of Jesus we hear, “Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me,” (John 15: 4). To make the statement more dramatic, Jesus says, “…without me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). 

You know, many people till date admire Abraham Lincoln and consider him the greatest president of all time. Many people around the world admire Mahatma Gandhi, and consider him a great spiritual hero. Many Catholics admire and venerate great saints like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Padre Pio, St. Pope John Paul II, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta etc. But no matter how much you admire Abraham Lincoln as a political figure, no matter how much you admire Gandhi as a moral hero, no matter how much you admire Padre Pio as a spiritual and saintly hero, you will never be tempted to say that without any of them you could not live. You cannot say unless you are grafted unto any of them, you can do nothing. But about himself Jesus says, “…without me you can do nothing.” Why? Because Jesus is the Word made flesh. He is the very incarnation of the God of Israel. In Jesus, God has visited his people. It is through him and with him and in him that we have access to the Father. 

Jesus is the Vine, we are the branches. As branches, how can we remain to in the vine? What can enable us remain living branches of the living Vine? First, Mass attendance especially on Sunday. Why is Mass attendance important? It is the most ordinary way  to remain in Christ, the true vine. At Mass we encounter Jesus both in the Word and in the Eucharist. The Mass is the primary way in which we Catholics worship God as a community. Mass time is a time to give thanks. The word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving, so, the Mass is a time to thank God for blessings and ask for help in the future. The Mass connects Catholics to the truth of God, who is the center of our lives. At Mass, our relationship with God and with each other is strengthened; our love for God is deepened as well. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Sundays are holy days of obligation, and that the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass on Sundays and other holy days of obligation. When people ask me why they should attend Mass, my immediate answer is, “Because you are not a saint.” The second Christian practice that enables us to stay connected to Jesus is personal prayer. What is prayer? For St. John Damascene, “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God.” 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 breakdown. 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. When a branch of a tree is chopped off, it withers and dies after a few hours. Prayer is the time to turn off all the electronics and 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 talk to him. If you have nothing to say to him or you don’t know what to say to him, say thrice, “Jesus, I love you” or “Jesus, I need you” or “Jesus, I trust in you.” From today, make it a personal rule of your life to never go to bed at night without praying and without saying something to the Lord.

What’s going to happen to a Christian who remains connected to Jesus through regular Mass attendance and through personal prayer? Jesus says, “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” What are those fruits? The corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. Spiritual works of mercy: admonish the sinner, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses willingly, comfort the afflicted, pray for the living and the dead. I tell you, spiritual dormancy and inactivity is caused by lack of steady contact with the Lord. The bad news here is that if nothing is done to address it, it will lead to loss of the sense of the sacred, loss of the sense of God and loss of the sense of faith. Many people can tell you why they disconnected themselves from the Catholic faith. But it always begins with skipping Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and seeing prayers as an unnecessary activity. If you want to stay close to Jesus till you breathe your last, attend Mass regularly. Make personal prayer a priority. Practice the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. They can make you holy. 

God bless you!