The Vine & the Branches

Gospel John 15: 9-17

Tonight’s Gospel is a continuation of last week Gospel. Tonight Gospel was also repeated at least two times during the week both on Thursday & Friday. The message is an important one.

Last week Jesus told us that “He is the vine, God is the vinedresser, we are the branches”. If we break away from the vine, we wither and die, God cuts away , collect & thrown into the fire. If we remain in Him, we live & produce fruits and we will have life to the fullness.

How do we know that we are evidently remaining or in union in HIM and in His Love? When we keep His commandments. “Love God and one another”.

When we are in union with him i.e. like a branch remaining in the vine, we receive from Jesus the effect of the union.

Tonight, Jesus tells all of us, who He calls HIS friends, the effect of the communion with HIM. My friend, if you remain in me & my love, keeps my commandments, you will have my JOY, a JOY that is complete. Jesus talked of JOY, the JOY of making an absolute & complete submission in love to our Father God for the sake of mankind. Just as there is a kind of joy in giving a gift to a friend, so there is a joy in giving one life’s for humanity.

In addition of Joy, a second effect of union with him would be Love.

Love is the normal relation of branches to one another, because all are rooted in the vine. There are no limits to His Love. Not 7 times but 77 times that we should forgive, meaning no limit. Though Jesus called those for whom He died “friends,” the friendship was all on His side and not on ours, for as sinners we were enemies. “He died for us while we were still sinners.” We cannot claim any merits. No merits can justify our salvation. It is God’s Love for us that justify our redemption. He loves us. He chose us first. So tonight, he commissioned us to go forth and bear fruits, fruits that will last.