Words of Spirit and Life

Acts 9:26-31; Psalm 21 (22): 26-28. 30-32. R. v. 26; 1 John 3: 18-24; John 15:1-8

Theme: JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES: “WHOEVER REMAINS IN ME,

             WITH ME IN HIM, BEARS FRUIT IN PLENTY”.

1. Today is the 5^th Sunday of Easter, and the readings today tell us that the risen Lord dwells in us and we dwell in him, and in this “mutual indwelling” we will bear fruit in plenty: we will proclaim the Good News, we will praise him, and we will keep his commandments!

    The gospel today tells us that the risen Lord dwells in us and we dwell in the risen Lord, and that in this “mutual indwelling” we will bear fruit in plenty: “Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty”! (Jn 15:5) In fact the image of “the vine and the branches” does not adequately express this mystery of “mutual indwelling”!

2. One of the fruits of this mutual indwelling is that we will proclaim the Good News fearlessly even if we are rejected and persecuted! The first reading tells us that St. Paul proclaimed the Good News to the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) even when they rejected and persecuted him: “Saul (St. Paul) now started to go round with them in Jerusalem, preaching fearlessly in the name of the Lord. But after he had spoken to the Hellenists, and argued with them, they became determined to kill him.”! (Ac 9:28-29)

3. Another fruit of this mutual indwelling is that we will “praise the Lord” (“Alleluia”)! We will praise the Lord in the assembly! We will invite the assembly to praise the Lord! We will invite the whole world to praise the Lord! We will invite all peoples in the past, present, and future to praise the lord!

    The responsorial psalm today is the third / last part of Psalm 21 (22) and it is on praising the Lord! The psalmist praises the Lord in the assembly! The psalmist invites the assembly to praise the Lord! The psalmist invites the whole world to praise the Lord! The psalmist invites all peoples of the past, present, and future to praise the Lord!

    Even before we ask or petition anything from the Lord, we must first praise and thank the Lord for everything that the Lord has given to us even before and even without our asking! In the Eucharistic Prayer we first praise and thank the Lord, before we ask and petition the Lord! The word Eucharist means thanksgiving!  

4. Yet another fruit of this mutual indwelling is that we will keep the commandments, that is, we will believe in Jesus Christ and we will love our neighbor! These commandments of John parallel that of “the greatest commandment of all” of Mark 12:28-31 (NJBC): “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. …. You must love your neighbor as yourself.”!

    Thus we read in the second reading: “His commandments are these: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another as he told us to. Whoever keeps his commandments lives in God and God lives in him. We know that he lives in us by the Spirit that he has given us.”! (1 Jn 3: 23-24)

5. Today in the Eucharist we celebrate Easter! We celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and we eat his body and drink his blood, and the risen Lord will give us his Holy Spirit, and he will dwell in us and we will dwell in him and we will bear fruit in plenty: we will proclaim the good news, we will praise him, and we will keep his commandments!

                                                                                                                        Amen!

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