Living under the loving gaze of the Father – Instituto Humanitas Unisinos

The reading that the Church proposes this Sunday is the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John 15:1-8 which corresponds to the 5th Sunday of Easter, cycle B of the Liturgical Year. The commentary is prepared by Ana Maria Casarotti, Missionary of the Resurrected Christ.

Here’s the reading.

“I am the real vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch that does not bear fruit in me, the Father cuts off. You branches that bear fruit, he pruning so that they bear even more fruit. You are already clean because of the word that I spoke to you. Stay united with me, and I will stay united with you. The branch that is not united to the vine cannot bear fruit. You also will not be able to bear fruit if you do not remain united with me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains united to me, and I to him, will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Whoever does not remain united with me will be thrown away like a branch and will wither. These branches are gathered together, thrown into the fire and burned.”

“If you stay united with me and my words remain in yourselves, ask for whatever you wish and it will be given to you. My Father’s glory is manifested when you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

This Sunday, the Gospel of John offers us Jesus’ words to the group that is always by his side. They are words of encouragement on the path, of strength, especially in difficult times, and at the same time they offer a light that guides and illuminates.

Jesus uses the image of the vine to refer to himself and, based on it, he will say that his Father is the winemaker and the community is like the branches: “You are the branches.”

We dwell on the image of the Father as the vinedresser who takes care of his came with a jealous love, which sees her grow, which is attentive to her difficulties to “prune” her and thus generate better growth. He himself planted this vineyard, which is his Son, and the branches grew around him, like that group full of life that follows Jesus, captivated by his words, gestures and actions.

A vine grows under the loving gaze of the Father, from the moment of incarnation, like that seed of eternity planted on our earth in the bosom of Maria. The Father gives us his vine and, through it, gives us the sap that, as a true nutrient, nourishes our life and fills it with the joy of his presence. He is the vineyard grower and we belong to his vineyard, we are in it, with the originality of each creature. He is the creator who takes care of us and feeds us with his vitality.

This Sunday, we continue to celebrate Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus, who today identifies himself with the Vine and who, through his words, brings us closer to the mystery of a God who is Father and who loves us with unconditional love. . Nothing can separate us from his Love that embraces us from the moment of our birth, but we can live without knowing it or knowing it throughout our lives.

God the Father is that wise and loving vinedresser, attentive to caring for each sprout that is about to be born and also of what could harm the growth and fertility of the branch. Jesus invites us to remain united to Him, like the branch to the vine. We are small or large branches invited to be united with Him, to let His sap flow within us and nourish our lives.

How is it possible for a branch to separate from a tree or a branch from the vine? We are used to seeing trees on the sides of roads, in the middle of a steppe or on city streets. Trees with large trunks that grow in search of light, fed by a life not visible to our eyes, which are their large roots that spread across the earth, sustaining this life that is a refuge of novelty, a space where birds make their nests and live. they develop, protection against the harsh weather, shelter for so many lives and colors. Each tree needs its time and space, it has its uniqueness and particularity which, sometimes, to our unaccustomed eyes, can become a rarity. Size, branches, leaves, colors make up this significant variety that God gave us. A life pulsates within them that seeks the sun and collects the light that feeds it and is sustained by water and nutrients from the earth. We cannot imagine a tree without branches because it is something constitutive, something that makes the tree, otherwise it would be a simple trunk.

In the same way, we cannot imagine a vine without branches. The vine exists to bear fruit and abundant fruit. Jesus takes this image of the vine and branches as a symbol of the bond that unites us to him and of which the Father care with love continuous. It is a bond that is already sown at the core of our being, but of which Jesus invites us to “become aware”, to recognize it, to open our inner space and that of our communities, so that his Life can flow in all its strength. When Jesus talks about permanence, he is not referring to staying in the same place without changing. He presents us with the image of the branch united to the vine, thus referring to a special connection, through which life flows, the sap that feeds them mutually. It is a silent and profound exchange, which feeds and connects the two parties in such a way that they become almost inseparable.

This Sunday, we are invited to recognize ourselves as branches of a great vine that the Father sowed on our land and which he cares for with deep love. He is the Vinhateiro and under his loving gaze we live, move and bear fruit. It may be necessary to stop doing things “to please God” or simple efforts to stay in it and give space to the sap of his Spirit that helps us to recognize him present in our environment, in our lives and in our communities.

Prayer: Light

Don’t call us
to light up the shadows
with fragile candles
protected from the winds
with the palms of your hands,
nor to be pure mirrors
that reflect other people’s lights,
quoted stars
dependent on other suns,
that as we love the night
make surfaces shine
with passing reflections
at your pleasure.

You offer us
be light from within, (Mt 5,14)
lit bodies
with your inextinguishable fire
in the marrow of the bone (Jer 20:9)
burning bushes
in the solitudes of the desert
who seek the future (Ex 3:2)
home aftermath
that brings together friends
sharing bread and fish (John 21:9)
or prophetic lightning
that scratches the night
so mistress of death.

You offer us
be a light for the people (Is 42:6)
Pentecost bonfires
in persistent combustion
of our days
lit by your spirit,
be light in you,
that you are the light,
fused inseparably
our fire with your fire.

Benjamin G. Buelta, sj

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