Fifth Sunday of Easter 

April 24, 2024 

Dear Ascension Family, 

         Blessings of peace and good health!                                                A man who had been found guilty of rape and murder of a teenage girl was condemned to death by electric chair. Further investigation revealed that the man had actually murdered at least 30 other girls. After his execution, his mother was interviewed. She was in tears when she made the following statement; “We grieve because he is still our beloved son despite everything. We did not bring him up to become what he became. But, when he left home, something happened to him and he changed.” 

   Sad to say, the story of this family is the story of many families. Parents bring up their children the best way they can, setting a good example for them. And the children respond well to such care for a while. As long as they remain in the protective atmosphere of the family, they show every sign of becoming responsible adults. But then comes the day when they leave the family. Some children fulfill all the promises of their upbringing and become as good as their parents. But some give in to the bad influence of their new surroundings. Deprived of the vital support of their family roots, they gradually lose their capacity to resist evil. Parents can grieve over the fact, but what can they do? Even some children who stay at home turn out badly too. After all, parents cannot live their children’s lives for them. The children must eventually decide for themselves. The drama is not that children are free, but rather that freedom can be used for choosing death instead of life.   

   In today’s gospel reading, we are dealing with a similar situation. In reference to Jesus we are all faced with the same crucial decision for our lives: Will we live our lives in Jesus or not? Will his teaching inspire our lives or not? Will we remain in his loving presence or not? That is the question. To illustrate this point, Jesus compare himself to a vine. He uses the image of the vine because the vine is found everywhere in Palestine. He could use any fruit-bearing tree as his point of comparison. As long as the branch is not broken off and keeps on receiving the sap of the tree, it can live. But it withers and dies as soon as it is cut off from the tree. Perhaps, if Jesus were preaching today, he might compare living our life in him to that of connecting an electronic gadget to an electric outlet. As long as the gadget is connected it can perform marvelous functions, like having instant communication to people thousand of miles away through the internet. But pull out the plug and everything is dead, no matter how sophisticated the gadget. 

    Likewise Jesus tells us that we can be spiritually alive - experiencing peace and joy in our hearts, giving ourselves in generous service to others, only if we are united with him. Separated from him, Jesus tells us, we can do nothing. But then Jesus adds that the branch that already bears fruit is pruned so that it may bear abundant fruit. Jesus is here alluding to the various difficulties and trials of life. When we experience setbacks and sufferings in any form, we naturally ask: “Why me? What have I done to deserve all this?” Jesus’ words in today’s gospel reading do not answer such questions. Rather they are a challenge: to view setbacks and sufferings as opportunities for spiritual growth. They are occasions when we must learn to trust more in God’s providence, to be more selfless, more loving and forgiving. Union with the Lord is the key to Christian fruitfulness. 

    But the temptation today is to be completely autonomous from God. It is to cut off the connection of the branches from the vine. Given our technological advances, when we seem to be capable of doing anything we can imagine, we are tempted to be on our own. We want to make our own rules, even in the moral sphere, disregarding the laws of nature and the laws of God. The Russian novelist Fodor Dostoyevsky’s theme about the consequences of a godless world has become a real one for us. To whom are we accountable? Either God exists or does not exist. If God exists, we certainly have to abide by his commandments. If God does not exists then anything is permissible. There are people today who are doing everything they could to set aside the reality of God so that they can make their own rules and live their own lives without God’s interference. 

    We need to stay connected to the vine, the living Lord, so that we can be what God wants us to be - the glory of God and the joy of humanity. Such is the dream of the heavenly vine grower for each one of us. 

Praying for you all,                                                                             Fr. Anacleto