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Abide In Jesus (John 15:1-11)

 It's common in the older Hebrew Scriptures for God to describe Israel as his vineyard. So when Jesus says that the Father is the vinedresser, he's not reaching too far with the metaphor.

Jesus as the true vine is worth some thought. The branches get their life from the root; they have no life in themselves. Jesus had said earlier in chapter 10 that he had come so that we may have life, and have it abundantly.

I'm sure none of us is overly excited about being pruned by God, like a diseased branch, but then again, that's better than being thrown away and burned in fire. Jesus reminds us quite directly that we have no life in ourselves when he says, "for apart from me you can do nothing." This spiritual life is not self-help, but is actually rooted in abandoning ourselves to God's loving care.

How do we "abide" with Jesus, and in Jesus? Each moment is a chance to reflect upon Jesus, to remember what he has already done for us, and to change direction, if we have gone away from God's loving plan. We abide by obeying the commandments that Jesus gave us. When he tells us to abide in his love, then we understand how we are to keep the commandments he gave us: we will do it in the strength of his own love for us.

St. Augustine is a great teacher and Bishop who lived in the fourth century. In a work that he wrote about the Blessed Trinity--God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit--he said that the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son. If that is true, then our power to love God and to keep the commandments is the Holy Spirit Himself.

When we begin our spiritual journey with God, the first thing we realize is how far we fall short of what he commands. It is really easy to think that we must not have believed in God, if we struggle to keep the commandments, especially particular ones that present challenges for us as individuals. But abiding or remaining in the love of Jesus is more often about turning back to him when we know we have sinned. His love for us is relentless; it is our love for him that must grow. That heart-knowledge of his relentless love and mercy for us is the energy and the power to keep pushing forward. In fact, St. John records that Jesus has told us all this so that our joy may be full. It is a mystery, and it's not obviously apparent what this joy is, but if it is anything like what God has already given, then I want to have that joy. And Jesus the Son of God rejoices in us! The Blessed Trinity is a family. It is mind-blowing to think that everything good that we hope for, and everything good that we see in the world, is simply a picture of God's own love and perfection. And He wants to share Himself with us!

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