+ 2 May AD 2021+

Reflection for 5th Sunday of Easter – Year B

A Christ-connected Christian is a productive and fruitful Christian; a Christ-disconnected Christian is an unproductive, listless Christian. This is the long and short of today’s Gospel! For any living organism to be alive and fruitful, it must be connected to its source of nourishment. For plants, the root establishes the connection between the plant and its source of nourishment, and the branches become fruitful to the extent that they are attached to the tree itself. Drawing from this simple horticultural reality, Jesus uses the imagery of the vine and its relationship with the branches to impress upon us the need to be firmly connected to him for the goal of maximum productivity. Just as the branch of a tree, in this case, the vine, cannot exist on its own except it is connected to the vine, every Christian that desires to be fruitful must be connected to Jesus, the vine: “cut off from me you can do nothing.” 

The Christian life becomes meaningful, fruitful and impactful when it is rooted in Christ, who is its source and its end. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Therefore, to remain fruitful and animated, we must be connected to Christ. Sadly, many Christians today desire to live and practice a Christianity that is not Christ-centered. Today there are some Christians who desire to practice a kind of customized Christianity, a kind of “Disney World” Christianity! A Christianity carefully crafted in their own image and likeness for maximum fun and minima pain and sacrifice. 

This is not the form of Christianity bequeathed to us by Christ or his apostles. In fact, a “christ-less” Christianity is nonexistent, or at best, a contradiction both in term and in function. For us to remain valid agents of the Christian faith, for us to bear fruits in plenty, for us to be able to add value and flavor to our lives and the society, we must be firmly rooted and connected to Christ the source and summit of our existence. This is the only path to maximum productivity as Christians. Cut off from Christ we can do nothing! But as St. Paul says: we can do all things with Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Again, St. John admonishes us in today’s Second Reading, to remain in him by keeping his commandments. When we do, we can be sure of this: he will remain in us through his spirit who vivifies, empowers and animates us. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Col 2:6-7).

    Fr. Lazarus Onuh