Feast of St. Matthias
Our text from John’s Gospel today is rich and deep; it contains much upon which to reflect. It was verse sixteen that captured my attention. Jesus says to us, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain . . .” Specifically, I invite us to focus on this phrase, “go and bear fruit that will remain.” What is the nature of this fruit? How do we recognize it? What constitutes its remaining? Jesus appoints us to be fruitful disciples. Let us pray for deeper understanding of Jesus’ Word and for the graces we need to go and bear fruit that will remain.
The passage we’re praying today follows Jesus’ beautiful discourse, describing himself as the True Vine and we, his disciples, as the branches. Jesus exhorts us, “Remain in me, as I remain in you. 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). (You might want to refer back to John 15:1-8 and note how many times we are called to remain.)
This verb remain (“menó” in Greek) is very important for John the Evangelist. It recurs frequently in his Gospel and Epistles. The term means, “to remain, to abide, to stay, to continue, to dwell, to endure.” We’re to understand it to mean an enduring permanence in the actions described.
In today’s reading, Jesus continues the theme, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” Jesus loves us with the same infinite, extravagant, self-giving love that he receives eternally from the Father. God draws us into the loving embrace of the Holy Trinity and invites us to remain in this communion of love. We abide in God’s love when we keep Jesus’ commandments. We are called to love and obey him as he loves and obeys his Father.
Jesus’ New Commandment forms the substance of his moral teaching: love one another as I love you (see John 13:34). What is the nature of Jesus’ love? It is radical, self-giving, sacrificial, unconditional, merciful, forgiving, just, generous . . . What other attributes might you think of to describe Christ’s love for his disciples and for the whole world?
To love Jesus as he loves us carries a mandate - to go and bear fruit that will remain. What kind of fruit does God the Father seek? The branches of the True Vine must bear the fruit of love. We must love one another as Christ loves us – our love for one another must mirror divine love. This is a difficult mission. It is our communion with Jesus, our permanent, secure abiding in the Vine, that allows us to produce the fruit of love.
I’ve been reflecting in my own prayer recently about my desire to grow in holiness. This is the goal of every Christian, right? But I’ve been looking deep within and asking myself, what lies at the heart of my desire to grow in holiness? Is it to escape the fires of hell? Is it to gain intimacy with God? Is it to experience purgation and illumination such that I might attain union with God? Is it to enjoy deeper peace, joy, and all the other benefits of communion with God? Nothing wrong with any of those motivations. But I’ve sensed God redirecting my focus from myself to others, reminding me to love. To grow in holiness means to grow in love. What is holiness, if not to be perfected in love? Ultimately, growth in holiness is not personal piety – it’s not about me! A holy person turns her/his focus from inward to outward. Prayer, spiritual disciplines, worship, study of scripture, service, etc must all be directed toward the goal, to go and bear fruit that will remain. After all, it is love that remains, as St Paul declares, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).
Love is the fruit that remains, that abides and endures forever. We direct our love toward God and others. And when we love others as Christ loves us, the recipients of our love see Christ in us. When they respond to that love, awakening to the reality of God’s love, they experience opportunities for conversion! The fruit of our abiding, our remaining, may just be that another person comes to know God’s redeeming love. Let us pray that the fruit of our abiding in the Vine yields many more branches who will also become fruit-bearing. I think this may be part of what it means to bear fruit that will remain – dwelling in communion with the eternal love of God means we do our part to extend it. When God’s love comes to abide in someone else because of our radical, self-giving, merciful, Christ-like love, that is a beautiful thing.
I’ll see you in the Eucharist,
Elizabeth Wells