Eight times Jesus uses the verb “to remain” in the today’s Gospel. Why such insistence in this issue? The only explanation is that remaining in Christ is the fundamental nucleus of His message.

Remaining in Jesus is to welcome His world and His example, and to put it into practice. It is by remaining in Christ that the disciples will produce the fruits that are pleasing to the Father. And the sap of love that unites Jesus to the disciples creates ties among people, brings fraternity to them, to solidarity and communicates life.

In order that we may be “fruitful branches”, we need to hear and to keep well the Words of the True Vine: “Every branch that is in me, that does not give fruit, he will prune it; and all of what gives good fruit in order that it may produce still more fruit” (cf John 15:2), In order that more grapes may grow, The Lord prunes the branches, removing the useless shoots and all that could divert the vital strength from the productive shoots.

Pruning is painful, but necessary, because many things surge in strength and impede us from dedicating ourselves from productivity. We need good pruning and weeding, then allowing us to be corrected. Another thing demanded for the production of fruit is to remain on the vine. Without the vital ties with it, branch itself wilts and dies. This brings us to the second principle responsibility of this passage.

Remaining in Jesus is essencial that we may life and be fruitful: “Remain in me and I will remain in you. As a branch cannot remove fruit by itself, if it does not remain on the remain, still, neither can you give fruit, if you do not remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whomever remains in me and I in him, this gives much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5)

Those branches that remain in Christ produce much fruit, the others, will be collected and thrown on the fire. It is the pure truth what Jesus says to us: “Without me you can do nothing“. Separated from Jesus, we cannot do anything to improve our life, our family, our soul and our relation with God.

Many try to walk alone, thinking that kindness and discernment will produce fruit without the support of the Lord. If you also are thinking and acting in this manner, you are mistaken. Only with the help of Jesus are we capable of completing the justice and the truth that the Lord hopes that we produce.

Therefore, Christ remains in us, through His Words: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you” Some seek “to divorce” Jesus from what He says and seeks a relation with He without paying careful attention to His Word. They depend on feeling, emotions and experiences. But, in fact, The Lord lives in us, only to the point in which His Words and His teaches remain in us.

We need to remind  ourselves constantly, what Jesus says and meditate on this way that He can live powerfully in us. The other way through which Jesus remains in us is when we keep His commandments: “If you keep my commandment, you will remain in my love; as also I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” (cf John 15:7)

We ask the Father in Heaven that he give the grace to maintain an uninterrupted tie, active and constant with Jesus, of whom we depend to produce the fruits that that He himself hopes from us.

Fr. Bantu Mendonça
Fr. Bantu Mendonça Katchipwi Sayla is a priest for the Diocese of Tubarão, Angola

translated from Portuguese