The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to ponder our response to the prompting of the Spirit in the events of our day to affirm and deepen our connection to full life in Christ.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles begins the description of the Council at Jerusalem.
* [15:1–5] When some of the converted Pharisees of Jerusalem discover the results of the first missionary journey of Paul, they urge that the Gentiles be taught to follow the Mosaic law. Recognizing the authority of the Jerusalem church, Paul and Barnabas go there to settle the question of whether Gentiles can embrace a form of Christianity that does not include this obligation. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 15, n.d.)
Psalm 122 is a song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem.
* [Psalm 122] A song of Zion, sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem three times on a journey. The singer anticipates joining the procession into the city (Ps 122:1–3). Jerusalem is a place of encounter, where the people praise God (Ps 122:4) and hear the divine justice mediated by the king (Ps 122:5). The very buildings bespeak God’s power (cf. Ps 48:13–15). May the grace of this place transform the people’s lives (Ps 122:6–9)! (Psalms, PSALM 122, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus proclaims He is the True Vine.
* [15:1–17] Like Jn 10:1–5, this passage resembles a parable. Israel is spoken of as a vineyard at Is 5:1–7; Mt 21:33–46 and as a vine at Ps 80:9–17; Jer 2:21; Ez 15:2; 17:5–10; 19:10; Hos 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Ps 80:15 and Wisdom’s description of herself as a vine in Sir 24:17 are further background for portrayal of Jesus by this figure. There may be secondary eucharistic symbolism here; cf. Mk 14:25, “the fruit of the vine.”
* [15:2] Takes away,prunes: in Greek there is a play on two related verbs.
* [15:6] Branches were cut off and dried on the wall of the vineyard for later use as fuel. (John, CHAPTER 15, n.d.)
Joan Howard reflects on the loss of a special tree and asks: “Where is the “good-news” in all of this?”
Read on…the really good-news comes in the following 3 verses, 9-11. Love(loved) is written five times, Joy is used twice, abide three times! “As the Father has loved me, so I love you; abide in my love. The previous 8 versus are not meant to frighten or scare us, but “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” I ask myself, how was God’s Spirit with me, abiding in me, as I sat in vigil with my beloved tree? No immediate answer in the midst of pain. Gradually, I did experience a glimmer of gratitude for the numerous gifts that tree had given over decades. I sat with this, savoring it and very very gradually experienced a sort of joy. There is more here to savor. Death is not joyful. Destruction of creation is painful. I ask myself when and how have I experienced God’s Spirit abiding in me in a tragic moment. Take your time sitting with Spirit. Where is God’s lifegiving fruit of joy in my life? The joy and hope of the Resurrection? Difficult questions, difficult prayer, in difficult times. In love, the answer, comfort, and the hope and joy will come. The pain and loss may never go away. Maybe it shouldn’t.
“Remain in (love with) me as I remain in (love with) you…” (Howard, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Cleansed by Jesus' word,” by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.
"So the world - life enslaved by carnal passions - can no more receive the grace of the Spirit than a weak eye can look at the light of a sunbeam. First the Lord cleansed his disciples' lives through his teaching, and then he gave them the ability to both see and contemplate the Spirit. He says, 'You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you' (John 15:3). Therefore 'the world cannot receive him, because it neither sees him nor knows him... You know him, for he dwells with you' (John 14:17). Isaiah says, 'He who settled the earth and the things in it; and gives breath to the people on it, and Spirit to them that tread on it' (Isaiah 42:5). From this we can learn that those who trample earthly things and rise above them become worthy to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (excerpt from ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 22.53) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 15:1-8 comments that we can remain in Jesus because he chooses to remain in us. He is committed to us in love. He is connected to us even when we might not feel so connected to him. So every time we choose to stay close to him, he’s already there to cheer us on. And when we need to return to him, it’s easier to make that move because he’s still right beside us.
This is the constant exchange of life and love that sets our hearts at rest—Jesus remaining in us and we in him. We see it when he fills us with peace during our prayer time. We see it in the grace to be faithful in our marriage or friendships. We see it when we are moved to repent or reconcile with someone we have hurt. And we see it in the love he pours into us that moves us and strengthens us to serve the people in our lives. That’s the fruit of remaining in him.
“Lord Jesus, thank you for remaining in me. You are my place of rest. I am so grateful to remain in you.” (Meditation on John 15:1-8, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler compares the Council of Jerusalem with Vatican II and notes the discussion about Paul not accepting that Christians had to follow Jewish religious practice. Our life is in connection with Jesus like the branch with the vine. We choose to accept connection to Him. Friar Jude notes the eucharistic sense of being one with Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Pastor and public theologian Nadia Bolz-Weber who describes how emphasizing “purity” leads us away from holiness. Holiness is about union with, and purity is about separation from. Bolz-Weber points to Jesus’ actions to encourage seeking holiness over purity.
Jesus seemed to want connection with those around him, not separation. He touched human bodies deemed unclean as if they were themselves holy: dead little girls, lepers, menstruating women. People of his day were disgusted that Jesus’ disciples would eat with unwashed hands, and they tried to shame him for it. But he responded, “It is not what enters the mouth that makes one unclean but what comes out of it that defiles” [Matthew 15:11]. He was loyal to the law, just not at the expense of the people.
Jesus kept violating boundaries of decency to get to the people on the other side of that boundary, those who’d been wounded by it, those who were separated from the others: the motherless, the sex workers, the victims, and the victimizers. He cared about real holiness, the connection of things human and divine, the unity of sinners, the coming together of that which was formerly set apart. (Rohr, 2023)
We are invited to abide in the Love of God and recognize the Presence of Jesus in our daily activities as our source of life.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 15. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/15?1
Howard, J. (2023, May 10). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051023.html
John, CHAPTER 15. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15?
Meditation on John 15:1-8. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/05/09/674986/
Psalms, PSALM 122. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/122?1
Rohr, R. (2023, May 10). Purity Is Not Holiness — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/purity-is-not-holiness-2023-05-10/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Abide in Me, and I in You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=may10
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