The bond that exists in the three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is essentially the true mark of Christianity. The Church which proceeds from this community of love has the one mission of fostering the peace and harmony of those who have been gathered together in baptism as well as the entire children of God scattered throughout the world. In the Collect of the Mass this Sunday the whole Church prays that Almighty ever-living God may ‘constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us that those you were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism may, under your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal.’
God the Father of Creation remains a faithful and dedicated gardener who prunes his children with care. Jesus is the true vine and his Father is the vinedresser. Jesus is the branch and we are the branches; in Christ, we live, move and have our being. Cut off from him, we can do nothing; we wither.
Like real plant that gets its nourishment from the fertile ground and distributes life across its branches, so we are spiritually nourished by God through Christ, in Him and with Him in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
We are not honorary members of the Church. Just as we are one with the true vine, we are true members of the Church, sharing God’s love that is real and active. We are baptised into the body of Christ to remain with the vine in continuous openness of being pruned to bear fruit. It is as if Christ appeals to his own body, the Church, to remain with him. It is one thing to fall in love, another thing to remain in love. It is one thing to be born into a family; to join a group; pick up a vocation or profession or become a member of an association, another thing is choosing to remain and with commitment. When we remain faithful, we bear fruit to the glory of God the Father; after which we can truly become disciples. Discipleship in this particular context refers to the act of witnessing. We are called to witness. Our mission is incomplete as disciples if we fail to bear witness to Christ. It is only by our fruits that we can be certain and others will know ‘that we are the children of the truth.’
Saul tried to join the disciples ‘but they were all afraid of him: they could not believe he was really a disciple.’ (This ‘fear’ could have arisen from some cautious discernment or judgement and prejudice of the past) It took Barnabas to convince the disciples that Saul has really turned a new leaf; he is with us and not against us. Together with this ‘late comer’ the churches were now left in peace, building themselves up, living in fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.
