Gospel Reflection 2020/2021

Who is Jesus Christ?

There are many who seek to reduce Jesus to just a great teacher, a supreme prophet, a holy man, or a faithful servant of God. But for us Catholic Christians, Jesus is not just another religious teacher or another prophet among the others. We believe that Jesus is truly human, but more importantly, we also believe that Jesus is truly God. He is the Son of Man and He is the Son of God – fully human and fully divine.

In the Holy Gospel according to John, Jesus reveals His true identity through the Seven ‘I AM’ Statements:

1) I AM the Bread of Life (Jn 6: 35)

2) I AM the Light of the World (Jn 8: 12)

3) I AM the Gate (Jn 10: 9)

4) I AM the Good Shepherd (Jn 10: 11) (Last Sunday’s Gospel)

5) I AM the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11: 25)

6) I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14: 6)

7) I AM the True Vine (Jn 15: 1) (This Sunday’s Gospel)

Through these Seven ‘I AM’ Statements, Jesus does not just reveal His identity to us but He also reveals to us our relationship with Him: He is the Good Shepherd and we are the sheep of His flock (last Sunday), He is the True Vine and we are the Branches (this Sunday)…

These are four (4) points for further reflection:

1) Jesus is the True Vine. We are the branches. The Father is the Vinedresser.

It is Jesus’ desire that we are ONE with Him through the ONE Holy Catholic Church: ‘There is only ONE Body and ONE Spirit, just as we are called to the ONE hope…, ONE Lord, ONE Faith, ONE Baptism, ONE God and Father of all, Who is above all and through all and in all’ [cf. Ep 4: 4-6]. When we remain in Christ, we will remain in Christ's Church. When we remain in Christ’s Church, we will remain in Christ.

2) Cut off from Me you can do nothing.

A branch is unable to generate life and sustain its own life. A branch which is cut off and thrown away cannot survive on its own but will eventually wither and die. Jesus is our Light and Life. Without Jesus, our life sinks into depression, darkness and decay, and our soul withers and dies. We can only be fully alive in Christ Jesus and His Holy Church.

3) Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes.

Jesus tells us that even if we are spiritually fruitful, we will still be pruned – yes, pruning is an uncomfortable, painful and humbling process. Following Jesus is never going to be a smooth-sailing journey or a point-to-point direct flight. There can be no true discipleship without the cross. ‘If we want to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him’ [cf. Mt 16: 24]. Our parents teach and train us because they love us. Likewise, God prunes us because He loves us.

4) It is to the glory of My Father that you should bear much fruit.

Every branch must bear much fruits. Every disciple must be fruitful in the Lord. What fruits are we bearing? Do we bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit? (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.) [Ga 5: 22-23] Be warned: any branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off and thrown away into the eternal fire! We receive light and life from Christ, we too must share Christ’s light and Christ’s life with others. Freely we have received, so freely we must give.

Let our fervent prayer be:

“Lord Jesus, may I always be fruitful in You.”