Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Anyone reading today's gospel passage might suppose that the Lord insists upon our remaining in him! The word appears only eleven times in the Alleluia verse and the gospel! And He makes the statement both positively, "Remain in me!" and negatively, "If you do not remain in me...."
He does mean it. This insistence calls for serious reflection. "How can I remain in him? How, and when do I fail or slip away from Him? What can I do to prevent that?"
The question must be addressed by every self-styled Christian, and by the Church leaders who take their responsibility seriously. The obvious place to start is practice.
Human beings, because we are given a spiritual nature, have a natural desire, but no instinct for prayer or meditation; and our animal nature makes us very distractible. But God's Holy Spirit (grace) calls our animal nature to attention; we must watch not only the ground beneath us. We must also see the heavens above us; and everything which comprises our world.
"I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one."
Because He intends that we remain here, we know there is as much purpose in our remaining as there was in his being with us in Galilee and Jerusalem. We belong here in this time; and probably, in this place.
But, as He also knew so well, there are as many who oppose our being here as there who wanted him gone. They hung him on a tree, suspended above the ground, as if demanding that God take him from the earth.
However, when we saw him on that same tree, we could not resist our desire to look up to him. We were drawn like iron to a magnet by his intense love for us. And then we came to him and there we remain.
I often hear people complaining about the news of violence and war. It is happening abroad and at home, and within many homes. I urge the same people to spend as much time in prayer as they do listening to the news. The 24-hour news cycles are worse than useless; they repeat themselves endlessly as if we are stupid sheep or insensitive cows. And the more we listen the more we become stupid and insensitive.
We must abide in the Lord deliberately and attentively. We must notice how our hearts burn within us as we walk with him and listen to him. We must hear his reading of our history, and recognize how He has always been with us, and never neglected or abandoned us. As we study the historical documents of our scriptures we come to recognize him on every page of our history. It is He who leads us, calls us, and leads us into eternity.
Catholicism provides us with daily Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, and innumerable books, websites, and magazines for prayer and contemplation. There is a cloud of witnesses, living yet among us and passed into eternity, with more saints than anyone can count; we should study their lives, become acquainted with them, and ask for their friendship, prayers, and guidance. There's hardly time enough in a day to keep up with all that is offered for our deliverance out of this 24/7 mess!
The Spirit is willing; the flesh must get with it.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.