Until about 5 years ago John, my husband, and I were part of a vibrant Melbourne parish which - thanks to intelligent leadership and empowered parishioners- continued to embrace Conciliar reforms. In particular, our involvement lay in the development of two aspects of parish life - Small Christian Communities where folk were invited to gather regularly and share their lives in the light of God's word and, secondly, the implementation of a vibrant model of the Catechumenal process - the RCIA. Over time the parish actually harnessed together the small faith sharing groups with the Catechumenate process, so that prospective new Catholic Christians had a place to belong before, during and after the Initiation process. It was a boon not only for these new Catholics but for the 'old' ones as well, whose faith was re-visited and re-energised simply by the experience of journeying with the enquirers in their midst.
Then, in 2005, I had the good fortune of visiting a few parishes in the U.S. who were also exploring similar models of adult initiation, among them Spirit of Christ in Arvada, Colorado. Whilst there, I interviewed one of the newly baptised, Joan, about her experience of journeying in faith with the support of an SCC. This wonderful woman of faith looked at me, smiled and responded "Irene, you'll wither and die if you are not connected to the vine."
"You'll wither and die if you are not connected to the vine."
Wow! It just came at me from out of left field, with such authenticity and freshness. It is a moment that is indelibly etched into my memory, a moment of quintessential truth, made all the more poignant perhaps because this was exactly the experience of another Small Christian Community - a Johannine Small Christian Community, at the end of the first century.
Joan's words bring us to the message at the heart of today's gospel, and that is .. the deep interconnectedness of Vine Grower God, Jesus, True Vine, and us, his new community of vine branches. We belong together. Taking as our model Barnabas' embracing of Saul into the Jerusalem community which we listened to in the first reading, we who are also alive with the sap of Jesus' risen life are called in this, our time, to branch out in welcoming hospitality and fruitfulness where we see a need - to the neighbour, to the stranger, to the family member, to the 'Joans' of our acquaintance who have been newly grafted to the Vine at Easter. Barnabas is a model of inclusivity.
This gospel reading is part of the Last Supper discourse. Chronologically the last supper took place prior to Jesus' death and resurrection, yet we hear it now - after Easter. This reminds us that we are not celebrating events in their strict historical sequence. Rather we are immersed in a mix of time and timelessness, whereby we are celebrating a mystery that is, in every age and in every place, the reality of the risen Lord.
Imagine for a moment that we, you and I - this Eucharistic community - accept an invitation to join Jesus and the disciples at the table, and to entwine our lives with him, the True Vine, and with all the baptised. So we join them at table, bringing our issues and agendas - our personal stories, the political headlines this week, the latest ecclesial developments - whatever. We might even crave 10 seconds of Jesus' attention to push a burning point - a sort of "Look at moie, Jesus! Look at moie!" intervention. But Jesus has something of immensely greater significance to tell us - a tale about a Vine Grower and a Vine that he cherishes - a story of love and intimacy and interdependence which Jesus is implying must be our road map if we would conform our lives to his.
Contemporary theologian, Michael Morwood, unpacks the cosmic dimensions of Vine Grower God's love, speaking in terms that we 21st century Christians can understand, of God's immanence … alive in every particle of every galaxy … present and active on this planet before even human life emerged, in the upheavals and constant transformations into new life and possibilities. And of that revelation in Jesus, True Vine and our table host now, who shows us our connectedness with God and with all other people.
Jesus' use of vine imagery, with all its tangled, intertwining of branches, serves to remind the new community that has grown from his death and resurrection - us - that we are all called to be a non-hierarchical People of God, differentiated only in our particular fruitfulness - 'fruitfulness' being Johannine code for 'good works'.
Vine Grower God now invites us to let Jesus' words reshape and redirect our branching out. his is one form of pruning. For the vine to remain healthy and productive, the Vine Grower must also prune, at the appropriate time, that which is woody and withered from our lives, a pruning that will be ongoing. Indeed, it will be necessary at times to open ourselves to the death-like experience of the heavy pruning of conversion.
But John's choice and repetition of words in this passage emphasise the intimate indwelling of the risen Lord with the community - of True Vine with branches - and this is our reassurance and promise that, across cycles of rest and fruitfulness, the harvest yield of fruitful good works from this vine will be bountiful.
"It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit," says Jesus, "and then you will be my disciples." In other words, says Jesus, this Vine and Branches analogy is to be your ID as my new community. No wonder then that the early community painted the vine on the walls of the catacombs, in memory of the True Vine.
Scripture scholars tell us that the Johannine community, the community of the Beloved Disciple, had its genesis within Judaism as members of the Jerusalem community. Eventually they were expelled from the Synagogue and exposed to the wider world. So, within that wider world the readers of this gospel had to understand and live their Christian lives, to think and rethink how they were being guided under the inspiration of the Spirit. The grand analogy of vine and branches then can be seen to reflect their response to a variety of experiences - a sort of GPS for navigating the existential reality of their lives.
But back to the Ashburton Scout Hall - what has it been like for you to revisit this story of love and gentle growth in the gospel today? How does it speak to your life?
Pause for a moment ... take up Jesus' invitation to be with him, quietly and as best friends ... and let his words connect with your life experience.
Sit with that image of vine and branches, with all its implications of interdependence and intimacy ... everything under the doting gaze of the Vine Grower.
Know that you are loved to the max.
How have you experienced pruning along the way?
What was the fruitfulness? Where did it burst forth?
If you would like to share about some way that the gospel has spoken to you today, please feel free.