We’ve heard this Gospel from John so often we may let it go right over our heads. However, there is such an important message here, we need to take a fresh look at it.
For a long time we may have incorrectly read that Jesus was the vine and we were the branches and if we didn’t bear fruit we would be cut off the vine and thrown into the fire to be burned. That’s like amputating our arm. That doesn’t make sense and that’s not what this Gospel is saying. If we no longer bear fruit the Gospel says we would be pruned so that we might begin to bear that fruit again. It also says, and this is the important part, that even if we were bearing fruit we need to be pruned as well.
What in the world does that mean? Most gardeners know that in order to bear more fruit, even if the branches are producing, they need to be pruned back occasionally. Jesus is the vine—the strong and sturdy part of the plant. We need to stay connected and continue to grow through reconciliation and humility. Often our pruning usually occurs as a major event in our life—loss of a spouse, child, job, etc. Our pruning makes us more aware of how dependent we are on the vine. In other words, More of You, Lord and less of us. That’s the message for this week. Let’s remember how totally dependent we are on God and that staying closer to him enables us to bear much fruit.