Fifth Sunday of Easter

The True Vine of Love 

 Ambrosian Rite
Acts 7, 2-8. 11-12a. 17. 20-22. 30-34. 36-42a. 44-48a. 51-54; Ps 118; 1Cor 2,6-12; Jn 17.1b-11

Patristic reading
Saint Augustin of Hippo (354 – 430)
Tractate LXXX
On Jn 15:1-3

1. This passage of the Gospel, brethren, where the Lord calls Himself the vine, and His disciples the branches, declares in so many words that the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,1 is the head of the Church, and that we are His members. For as the vine and its branches are of one nature, therefore, His own nature as God being different from ours, He became man, that in Him human nature might be the vine, and we who also are men might become branches thereof. What mean, then, the words, “I am the true vine”? Was it to the literal vine, from which that metaphor was drawn, that He intended to point them by the addition of “true”? For it is by similitude, and not by any personal propriety, that He is thus called a vine; just as He is also termed a sheep, a lamb, a lion, a rock, a corner-stone, and other names of a like kind, which are themselves rather the true ones, from which these are drawn as similitudes, not as realities. But when He says, “I am the true vine,” it is to distinguish Himself, doubtless, from that [vine] to which the words are addressed: “How art thou turned into sourness,2 as a strange vine?”3 For how could that be a true vine which was expected to bring forth grapes and brought forth thorns?4

2. “I am,” He says, “the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away; and every one that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Are, then, the husbandman and the vine one? Christ is the vine in the same sense as when He said, “The Father is greater than I;”5 but in that sense wherein He said, “I and myFather are one,” He is also the husbandman. And yet not such a one as those, whose whole service is confined to external labor; but such, that He also supplies the increase from within. “For neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” But Christ is certainly God, for the Word was God; and so He and the Father are one: and if the Word was made flesh,-that which He was not before,-He nevertheless still remains what He was. And still more, after saying of the Father, as of the husbandman, that He taketh away the fruitless branches, and pruneth the fruitful, that they may bring forth more fruit, He straightway points to Himself as also the purger of the branches, when He says, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Here, you see, He is also the pruner of the branches-a work which belongs to the husbandman, and not to the vine; and more than that, He maketh the branches His workmen. For although they give not the increase, they afford some help; but not of themselves: “For without me,” He says, “ye can do nothing.”’ And listen, also, to their own confession: “What, then, is Apollos, and what is Paul but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. I have planted, Apollos watered.” And this, too, “as the Lord gave to every man;” and so not of themselves. In that, however, which follows, “but God gave the increase,”6 He works not by them, but by Himself; for work like that exceeds the lowly capacity of man, transcends the lofty powers of angels, and rests solely and entirely in the hands of the Triune Husbandman. “Now ye are clean,” that is, clean, and yet still further to be cleansed. For, had they not been clean, they could not have borne fruit; and yet every one that beareth fruit is purged by the husbandman, that he may bring forth more fruit. He bears fruit because he is clean; and to bear more, he is cleansed still further. For who in this life is so clean as not to be in need of still further and further cleansing? seeing that, “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness;” to cleanse in very deed the clean, that is, the fruitful, that they may be so much the more fruitful, as they have been made the cleaner.

3. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Why does He not say, Ye are clean through the baptism wherewith ye have been washed, but “through the word which I have spoken unto you,” save only that in the water also it is the word that cleanseth? Take away the word, and the water is neither more nor less than water. The word is added to the element, and there results the Sacrament, as if itself also a kind of visible word. For He had said also to the same effect, when washing the disciples’ feet, “He that is washed needeth not, save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.”7 And whence has water so great an efficacy, as in touching the body to cleanse the soul, save by the operation of the word; and that not because it is uttered, but because it is believed? For even in the word itself the passing sound is one thing, the abiding efficacy another. “This is the word of faith which we preach,” says the apostle, “that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth that Jesus is the Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”8 Accordingly, we read in the Ac of the Apostles, “Purifying their hearts by faith;”9 and, says the blessed Peter in his epistle, “Even as baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer10 of a good conscience.” “This is the word of faith which we preach,” whereby baptism, doubtless, is also consecrated, in order to its possession of the power to cleanse. For Christ, who is the vine with us, and the husbandman with the Father, “loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.” And then read the apostle, and see what he adds: “That He might sanctify it, cleansing it with the washing of water by the word.”11 The cleansing, therefore, would on no account be attributed to the fleeting and perishable element, were it not for that which is added, “by the word.” This word of faith possesses such virtue in the Church of God, that through the medium of him who in faith presents, and blesses, and sprinkles it, He cleanseth even the tiny infant, although itself unable as yet with the heart to believe unto righteousness, and to make confession with the mouth unto salvation. All this is done by means of the word, whereof the Lord saith, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

1 1Tm 2,5
2 Hebrew ynDm, pass. part. of rDm, to depart [from God], and so, perhaps, “stragglers,” i.e. “straggling branches of [a strange vine];” or, as in English version, “degenerate branches,” rather than as in text, where Augustin gives, in amaritudinem, vitis aliena, following the LXX., which reads, “ajllotriva.” The Vulgate is better: in pravum, vinea aliena.-Tr.
3 Jr 2,21
4 Is 5,4
5 Chap. 14,28.
6 1Co 3,5-7
7 Chap. 13,10.
8 Rm 10,10
9 Ac 15,9
10 Literally, “questioning,” interrogatio, 1P 3,21.
11 Ep 5,25-26



[1] Seven (and seven is not a random number because it indicates fullness) are the images that Jesus brings to the expression “I am”, revealing a particular dimension of himself: I am the bread of life (Jn 6:35), I am the light of the world (Jn 8,12), I am the door of the sheep (Jn 10,7), I am the good shepherd (Jn 10,11), I am the resurrection and the life (Jn 11,15) , I am the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14: 6), I am the true vine (Jn 15: 1).
[2] For seven times the Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John repeats the expression bear fruit: three times in 15.2 and then 4.5.8.16.

 

April 27, 2018

Francesco Follo

Fifth Sunday of Easter

The True Vine of Love

With the wish to understand that if we stay united to Christ, true Vine, we will give fruits of love and life in peace.

April 27, 2018 18:15

Readings:

Roman Rite – Fifth Easter Sunday – Year B – April 29, 2018
Acts 9, 26-31; Ps 22; 1 Jn 3: 18-24; Jn 15: 1-8


1) The real Vine[1].

Last Sunday, the Liturgy of the Church presented us Christ the good and true shepherd, today it presents Him as the true Vine.

In the Old Testament the vine, which was planted by Noah after the deluge, marked the beginning of an era. With the Song of Songs it became the symbol of the bride. This comparison was used by Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and the Psalms to indicate the people of Israel as the bride of the Lord who often proved unfaithful.

In the New Testament, the apostle Saint John introduces a change of perspective. The vine is no longer the people of Israel, but Jesus himself. Therefore, the members of God’s people are in intimate and close relationship with the Son of God, who gives them the lifeblood.

In fact, in the Gospel written by the beloved disciple of Christ, the vineyard of God is no longer Israel, but the Son. Not only that, he also says that the vineyard consists of only one vine and that vine is Jesus himself. He is the true vine of the Father, He is the new Israel.

The true vine is the only one able to finally produce the expected fruits, which the Farmer was looking for in Israel.

The “true” vine is the one that produces fruit. This vine contrasts with the “false” and sterile vine, which does not produce fruit. Christ is the vine that produces the fruit of the love of the Father and of the brothers. His Son becomes the Son of Man, and Christ is the “true” vine that produces the fruit desired by God, the true grape: the sweet fruit which is love.

The Father-Farmer is not satisfied with a modest fruit, he is looking for much fruit. Christ, the true vine bears fruit [2] through us, the branches, if we stay in the trunk becoming capable of a gift of love bearing much fruit.

This is why the Father takes care of the vine, cutting off the useless branches and pruning the others. If it is the vine that gives life to the shoot, it is the Farmer who favors the vitality of the branch and its gift-giving capacity. We must allow ourselves to be pruned, that is to be purified by the wise and loving hands of the Father. Our perfection does not consist so much in striving demanding paths of the soul, but in abandoning ourselves in the hands of the Father, who makes fruitful our capacity to love.

If we pray every day God, loving Him, and we love our neighbor, sharing with our brothers the true bread and living of mutual love and mercy, our staying in Christ will be truly bearing fruits of true life on earth and in heaven.

2) Remaining in Christ.

As branches of the vine, it is essential for us to remain in Christ, to dwell in Him, to let ourselves be loved, to cling to Him and to His outstretched arms crucified by love. This is the plan of the Christian life.

To remain in Him does not mean inventing who knows what. It is simply to be crucified with Him, taking our daily cross.

To remain in Him is to stay where He leads us, in the concrete history of our everyday life that we are called to live aware that “without Him, we can do nothing” (cf. Jn 15: 5). To a man who asked him: “How is it possible to keep man’s freedom together with not being able to do anything without God?”, John the Prophet, who lived in the Gaza desert in the fifth century, replied: “If man inclines his heart towards the good and asks God for help, he receives the necessary strength to carry out his work. Therefore, the freedom of man and the power of God proceed together. This is possible because good comes from the Lord, but it is accomplished thanks to his faithful (cf. Ep. 763, SC 468, Paris 2002, 206). The true “remaining” in Christ guarantees the efficacy of prayer, as Blessed Guerric d’Igny writes: “O Lord Jesus … without you, we cannot do anything. You are the true gardener, creator, cultivator and guardian of your garden that you plant with your word, irrigate with your spirit, and grow with your power “(Sermo ad excitandam devotionem in psalmodia, SC 202, 1973, 522).

To remain is a gift to be asked in order not to detach us from Him, Love that becomes our home. If we do not ask, if we are not beggars of Love, we cannot receive it as a gift.

To remain in him, growing in the awareness to live in this house and cultivating the feeling of gratitude because a grateful heart is a faithful heart, pleased to be loved by God, to love the brothers, and to be a friend of Christ, who does not wants servants but friends. Being a friend of Jesus means accepting his person, it means accepting his love for us, it means loving him and loving our neighbor.
A special example of this acceptance of Christ and of this adherence to him is that of the consecrated Virgins. These women are called to be witnesses in the world of the faithfulness of God who is the guardian of theirs.

They are faithful to the Word addressed to them by God from the day of baptism and that over time has taken the form of a call to live the Christian vocation in the particular form of virginal consecration.

They are faithful as brides to their Spouse because the characteristic of the consecrated of the Ordo Virginum is to live their being brides of Christ in the vigilant custody of the promise of Jesus: “Yes, I come soon!” (Rev 22:20) and to be a voice that, in the gratuitousness, responsibility and pure freedom of relationships, shouts to the Church and to the world: “Behold the Bridegroom! Go to meet him “(Mt 25: 6).

Faithful to Christ, the women of Ordo Virginum are bearers of the Word of the Beloved. It is from the ever faithful love of God that they draw strength in persevering in the embrace of their virginity for the Kingdom of heaven (Mt 19, 12) and committing themselves to live every day with authenticity and concreteness the Love that manifests the face of God.

Just as Christ remains in the love of God the Father, so these disciples, wisely pruned by the word of the Master (cf. Jn 15: 2-4) loved virginally as Spouse, remain in Christ as fruitful branches that produce abundant harvest. In fact, the dedication to the meditation of the Sacred Scripture and to prayer is not experienced by them as a withdrawal into themselves, but as an enlargement of the heart to embrace the whole of humanity, especially the one that suffers (cf. Pope Francis, Vultum Dei quaerere, n 16). Remaining firmly united to Christ as branches to the Vine, these consecrated women are also associated with his mystery of salvation, like the Virgin Mary, who at the Cross remained united to the Son in the same total donation of love.

Francesco Follo

Fifth Sunday of Easter (B)

April 29, 2018

Readings:

First Reading; Acts of the Apostles 9: 26-31

Psalm: 22

Second Reading: 1 John 3: 18-24

Gospel reading according to John (15: 1-8)

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Homily: True Vine and the Branches

Jesus again uses for himself another form of personification, allegory or an image to his disciples, depicting him as true vine.  “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower’.” (John 15: 1).  Jesus is our vine; we are attached to him as branches.  And in these branches sprout flowers then later come out fruits. Nevertheless, if we are fruitless branches, we are supposedly cut out by the vine grower, who is God our almighty Father, and let other branches which can give or produce much fruits remain.  Jesus shows to us our relationship with him and to the Father.  We are connected to him and to God our Father, as he is attached to the Father.  Every achievement we have is useless if it it apart from him.  “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit” (John 15: 2).  The vine grower, God the Father, cuts off the branch that does not produce fruit, meaning if we are like driftwood (“tuod,” a dead branch) which no longer produces fruit of good works we are just like waste, trash and useless branch that need to be taken away from the vine.  When we are pruned we become humble, for we allow others to grow.

If we listened and acted upon to what Jesus said to us we are already cleansed, pruned.  “You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you” (John 15: 3).  His words made us clean, for it purified our mind, soul and body.  His words made us clean, for his word is Spirit and life. “It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.  The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life” (John 6:63).    But, we have to bring into action whatever we have heard, so that we bear good and much fruits.  A withered branch is like a vein in our body that is clogged; therefore there is no blood flowing in it and the vein might die.  The same with us, his followers, if we just listened to his words without putting them into charitable works of mercy and compassion and love, then our listening is fatalistic and passive faith, without any fruit.  Since it only occupies space, it is needed to be taken away, so the other braches can breathe, have space enough and get great sustenance from the vine, and then bear fruits.

The best way to become truthful followers is to continue attaching ourselves to the true vine, Jesus Christ, as he promised, “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” (John 15: 4).  Jesus as a vine constantly remain in us, for he cannot drop and abandon his own branches attach to him.  Sometimes, our lives are experiencing many problems, troubles, etc., as if they are heavy rain or typhoon that devastated us, the vineyard; it is natural that the branches are broken and detached to the vine and flown away when natural disasters come in.  Despite of these heavy rain and/or typhoon (problems and trials of life), by the true vine it wanted the branch to remain to the vine.  It was different from the branch which Jesus was referring to.  These are the fruitless branches that separated themselves to the vine.  At the outset, they showed allegiance to the true vine but later and in truth they stop remaining to the vine despite of the goodness of God, so they cannot bear fruit.  But those who remain to the vine inspite of many tribulations coming to their lives can bear fruit, abundant fruits, for the branches (we) remain in the vine (Jesus Christ).  This is the truth that Jesus was teaching to his disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5).  Jesus is the vine in our lives, and we are the branches dependent to him.  Without Jesus in our lives, we cannot do anything. We cannot do much according to our own capacity, but with Jesus, nothing is impossible.

What’s the use of separated, dried or dead branch If it does not willing to attach itself to the vine?  Jesus explained to his disciples the importance of being linger in him and those who detach from him.  “Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned” (John 15: 6).  As branches in the vine, we must remain attached to it, otherwise we wither and die and throw away fitted for firewood in the furnace.  If we do not like or want to be under the care of the vine and the vine grower, there is no need to remain in the vine and it is natural for the vine grower to cut us out and prune the branches.  Our relationship with God and to Jesus depends upon our loyalty and faithfulness to them.  If we do not remain in them, sooner or later they will throw us out in his Kingdom prepared for those who are willing to remain in them.  Nevertheless, if we remain with them, to God and to Jesus, anything we ask in the name of Jesus, his Father and our God will grant all the necessary blessings we ask.  “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you” (John 15: 7), for we belong to the vine.  And this is the fruit of being attached with the vine. “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15: 8), the Father is glorified because we bear much fruit and we are true disciples of Jesus Christ.

Fourth Sunday of Easter (B) Good Shepherd Sunday/World Day of Prayer for Vocation

April 22, 2018

Readings:

First Reading; Acts of the Apostles 4: 8-12

Psalm: 118

Second Reading: 1 John 3: 1-2

Gospel reading according to John (10: 11-18)

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Homily: Good Shepherd

Jesus introduces himself to his disciples in another form of personification, allegory or an image and/or function, depicting Jesus as a shepherd; not just an ordinary shepherd or hired/paid shepherd, but a good shepherd and at the same time he is the owner of the sheep he guides and leads to the green pasture.  He takes good care of them.  “Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd.  A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’.” (John 10: 11).  As a good shepherd and owner of the sheep, he brings them in the field where there are lots of grasses to eat.  As a good shepherd, he is ready to protect his sheep from any danger and harm.  He even risks his life to the point of death, just to safeguard his sheep, especially from robbers/thieves and wild wolves.  Jesus, our good shepherd, saved us from the grasped of Satan, the thief and wolf, bad shepherd, when we were about to fall in his trap, by offering himself up to the cross and died, and on the third day he resurrected.  Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd” (v. 11).  The saying of Jesus, “I am,” is like that God introducing himself to Moses and Moses will introduce God to the Israelites and to the Pharaoh, when the time comes God will deliver Israel from slavery to freedom from the hands of Pharaoh in Egypt and to be brought to the Promised Land.  This saying is ultimately concerns the life, firstly of the people Israel, and sooner or later, secondly, those of gentiles and pagans to be included in the flock.  He has just promised life “to lay down his life” (v. 11), and he now says this life comes through his death (vv. 11, 15, 17-18).  Once again he starts with a familiar image in his audience’s life, since shepherds commonly had to deal with the problem of wild animals (cf. Gen. 31:39; 1 Sam. 17:34-37).  A good shepherd, one who is worthy of admiration (kalos), would risk his life to protect the sheep.  But Jesus does not merely risk his life; he consciously gives his life for the sake of his sheep (vv. 15, 17-18).  The expression in John 10, “lays down his life” (tithemi ten psychen), could be taken as a translation of “makes his life” (sim naphsho, Is 53:10), for the sheep, (hyper ton probaton), does not in itself necessarily speak of sacrifice, but in John it does.  So again Jesus’ death is seen to be central to his task, as a good shepherd.

What does good shepherd mean?  What is the meaning of good shepherd? What is the origin of good shepherd? And, who is the good shepherd?  Jesus refers himself as the good shepherd of his flock.  He is appropriating to himself the task of God in saving the sheep. In the Old Testament, the leaders of the people are called shepherds, especially Moses (Ps 77:20) and David (Ps 78:70-72; Ezek. 34:23). But God is the shepherd par excellence (for example, in Ps 80:1).  Jeremiah and Ezekiel in particular develop the shepherd motif to express how God cares for his people and his condemnation of false and evil shepherds (rulers).  God will condemn the false shepherds (Jer. 23:1-2; Ezek. 34:1-10) and appoint faithful shepherds to tend his flock after the manner of his own heart (Jer. 3:15; 23:4). Indeed, the coming Davidic Messiah will be God’s shepherd for his flock (Ezek. 34:23-24); a prophecy given in the context of God’s announcement that he himself will come to shepherd his flock. He will search for his scattered flock, gather them from the nations and lead them to good pasture on the mountains of Israel. He will tend to the weak and injured but will judge those shepherds who only look after themselves and harm the others (Ezek. 34:11-22).  In these passages God shepherds through his designated leaders. Jesus is claiming such a role for himself, but in a way unlike anything seen before.  He has made clear claims to divinity and messiahship, which will be repeated shortly (Jn. 10:22-39). So when he claims to be the shepherd he is claiming that Messiah has come and in him God himself has come to shepherd his people.  Another part of the conceptual background of the shepherd comes from the prophet Zechariah, who contrasts two shepherds. One is the messianic shepherd-king who is rejected by the people, which, in turn, results in their condemnation (Zech. 11:4-14). The other is the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock (Zech. 11:4-17). God’s messianic shepherd-king will be struck down, causing the sheep to be scattered and leading to the judgment and refining of God’s people (Zech. 13:7-9). This rejection by the leaders of the people and their own condemnation is echoed in John, as is the striking of the shepherd, though with a different effect which happened to Jesus and to his disciples.  It will indeed lead to the scattering of Jesus’ flock for a brief time, but it will also be central in the gathering of his own flock from among the nations: “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (cf. Jn. 12:32)       (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Good-Shepherd-Who-Flock).

Jesus continued by saying, “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them.  This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep” (John 10: 12-13).  Jesus goes on to contrast the shepherd who will risk his life for the sheep with a hireling who runs from the wolf and leaves the sheep behind to be attacked (harpazei, literally, snatched or carried off) and scattered.  Because he is not the owner of the sheep, he does not care about them (Jn. 10:12-13).  This picture is not so much an allusion of Ezekiel 34 as a development from it.  In Ezekiel the danger from wild animals arises after the sheep have been scattered (Ezek. 34:5, 8), and the false shepherds are indeed shepherds, though like the hireling they care nothing for the sheep except for the salary they receive.  The main point seems to focus on the character of the Good Shepherd, specifically, his care for the sheep.   His care for the sheep addresses two problems, (1) the lack of care on the part of the hireling and (2) the threat of scattering by the wolf.  Elsewhere the wolf is an image of false teachers who come both from outside the community and from within (Mt. 7:15; Acts 20:29-30). Such a problem was present in John’s day in Ephesus, since Paul’s prediction to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:29-30) was already coming to pass in Paul’s own day (cf. 1 Tim 1:3) and continued in John’s time (cf. 1 John).  Likewise, the problem of hirelings continued in the church, as seen in Peter’s exhortation to the elders to shepherd God’s flock willingly and not just for money (1 Pet. 5:2) (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Good-Shepherd-Who-Flock).

Jesus was telling his disciples, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I will lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10: 14-15).  For the second time Jesus said “I am the good shepherd,” and “lay down my life,” the themes introduced in a general way (Jn. 10:11-13) is then personalized and developed (10:14-18).  Jesus’ knowledge of his flock and their knowledge of him (v. 14) are compared to the knowledge the Father and the Son have of one another (v. 15). The conjunction translated “just as” (kathos) is most often used as a comparative, but it can have a causal sense. Both senses are true here, for “the relationship between God the Father and his Son is the original model and reason for Jesus’ fellowship with his own.”  As always, Jesus’ identity as the Son and his relationship with the Father are crucial for understanding what is being said. This knowledge is not simply knowledge about one another or merely the knowledge of an acquaintance. Rather, it is an intimacy that is love.  The intimacy of the Father and the Son is so close it is described as oneness (10:30), and a similar oneness of life is affirmed between Jesus and his disciples (for example, 15:1-7). This theme of intimacy has been introduced earlier, for example in Jesus’ teaching that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood, and it will be unpacked in detail in the discourse in the upper room (John chaps. 13-17). Its inclusion here provides important clarification regarding the nature of the new community Jesus is bringing into existence. This closeness includes the most intimate of relations between Jesus and each of his followers, and it is part of the union with God that they enter into in Christ through membership in his flock.  This new community is based in his death (10:15). The very pattern of life in this new community is that of life laid down for one another, a crucified form of life. The possibility of such a life and the power for such a life come through the life of the Son of God poured out on the cross, thereby uniting God and humankind by taking away the sin of the world and revealing the glory of God, the Father almighty (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Good-Shepherd-Who-Flock).

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.  These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10: 16).  Jesus mentions that he has other sheep not of this flock who must be brought also, so “there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (v. 16), is that Jesus is referring to sheep from outside the fold of Judaism. There are Gentiles and pagans who will listen to his voice and be joined to his flock.  Thus, in this section that speaks of Jesus’ founding a community apart from official Judaism, Jesus himself speaks to one of the greatest points of controversy in the earliest church.  He does not clearly specify on what terms the Gentiles and pagans are to be included, and so the church later had to discern his will whether or not Gentiles and pagans must become converts to Judaism in order to join his flock. But the present context, which describes a follower who has been expelled from the synagogue, hints at the answer.  They are already his sheep because they have been given to him by the Father (v. 16; cf. 10:29; 6:37-39; 17:2, 6, 24), yet they must hear his call and respond.  So once again we see both divine sovereignty and human responsibility at play.  In saying that he must “bring them also,” he speaks of the love that goes in search of the lost, which another theme is running throughout this Gospel and indeed the New Testament.  He must (dei) do this; it is a divine necessity that comes from the very character of God as love.  But how will he bring the Gentiles and pagans to his flock? When Gentiles do come to him it signals his hour has finally arrived (John 12: 20, 23), but Jesus himself is not seen going to the Gentiles.  He will bring the Gentiles and pagans into the flock by the ministry of his disciples, whom he will send (20:21). The disciples are the ones who will bring the Gentiles and pagans, but Jesus is saying it is he himself who is doing so. This is an example of the oneness between the shepherd and his flock.

Jesus explained his relation to his Father.  “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.  I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again”” (John 10: 17-18).  Jesus concludes his teaching by revealing more fully the mystery involved in the shepherd’s laying down his life for the sheep (vv. 17-18). He says he lays down his life “of my own accord” (literally, “from myself,” ap’ emautou), which makes it clear that his life is not simply taken from him by his opponents.   At no point in this Gospel are his actions determined by human agenda, and his death will be no different. It may look like the triumph of darkness over light, but it is not.   Pilate may think he has the authority (19:10, exousia, “power” in the NIV), but Jesus tells him, “You would have no power [exousia] over me if it were not given to you from above” (19:11).  This does not mean that the human agents of God’s power, both Pilate and Caiaphas, are without sin (19:11) but rather that there is an antinomy between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.  Jesus’ statement that he has the authority to lay down his life stretches the imagery of the shepherd.  He next proceeds to transcend it altogether by saying he has the authority not only to lay down his life, but also to take it back again. This mysterious teaching will become clearer in the next chapter, when he speaks of resurrection. The theme of life has been central throughout John’s Gospel, and soon it will be the focus of the climax of Jesus’ public ministry in the raising of Lazarus (John 11). The abundant life that this shepherd has come to give (v. 10) is something far beyond anything ever before available. Those in the story cannot even begin to grasp what he is talking about. Despite this talk about having authority and acting from himself, the hallmark of his life is in dependence on the Father. So he concludes by grounding all that he has said in this truth (v. 18). In laying down his life and taking it back he is obeying his Father.  He knows his Father's voice and obeys, just as we are to hear his voice and obey.  It is in this light that we must understand his statement that the reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again (v. 17). This statement seems to imply that the Father’s love is based on the Son’s obedience, but it is clear that the Father’s love for the Son is from all eternity (17:24; cf. 3:35; 5:20; 15:9; 17:23, 26). Furthermore, the Father loves the world, which is certainly not obedient (3:16), so the Father’s love is not conditioned by obedience.  Some commentators resolve this problem by looking at the character of the love between the Father and the Son and concluding that it is “eternally linked with and mutually dependent upon the Son’s complete alignment with the Father’s will and his obedience even unto death.”  Others point to the effects of the obedience, either in terms of its revelation of the love between the Father and the Son or in terms of its accomplishment of the salvation of the world  (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Good-Shepherd-Who-Flock).

“This command I have received from my Father” (John 10: 18).  Each of these efforts touches on Johannine themes, but what does it mean that the reason the Father loves the Son is that he lays down his life? or because of his obedience to the command of his Father who is love?  The Father simply is love (1 Jn. 4:8), and as a part of his very character his love is not contingent on the loveliness of the objects of his love. But it is possible to fall out of “the sphere of His active love,” which is the condition of the world upon whom God’s wrath abides (3:36).  His wrath is his settled opposition toward that which disrupts the harmony of relations between himself and his creatures and which corrupts and destroys those whom he loves. In the case of Christ, his sinless obedience maintains the harmony of relationship between himself and his Father – therefore God’s love remains fulfilled toward him. Jesus refers to this when he says, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:10). Such obedience is the expression of love and is the condition for intimacy. Thus, in our passage Jesus would be saying that the Father is able to fulfill his love for the Son because the Son does the Father’s will.  In this way, we see both the character of God’s love and the effects of the Son’s love, which is shown in obedience (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Good-Shepherd-Who-Flock).

Third Sunday of Easter (B)

April 15, 2018

Readings:

First Reading; Acts of the Apostles 3:13-15, 17-19

Psalm: 4

Second Reading: 1 John 2: 1-5a

Gospel reading according to Luke (24: 35-48)

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Homily:

When the two disciples, one of them named Cleopas, went back home to Emmaus sad and disappointed, walking with them was Jesus, but they did not recognize him or were blinded because of the light of the sun on its setting.  They were discussing about Jesus along the way, and of what had happened the week after, about his passion, his death on the cross, and the proclamation of his resurrection by some women, while Jesus was listening to their conversation.  (See Wednesday within the Octave of Easter gospel reading, Luke 24: 13-35, April 4, 2018).   Jesus joined in their discussions and explained to them about the Messiah’s life and fate from the beginning of the Books of Moses and the other prophets to psalms.  When evening came, Jesus pretended that he will continue going on his way but they invited him to stay with them for it was already dark.  “And it happened that while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them.  With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he was vanished from their sight . . . So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them . . .” (Luke 24: 30-33).

With enthusiasm and gladness, the two reported what had happened with them along the way up until the breaking of the bread at Emmaus to the eleven and other disciples.  “The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24: 35).  Maybe they saw the nail marked on the hands of Jesus when he broke the bread, that’s why they recognized him, or maybe they recalled how Jesus was breaking the bread for five thousand men, excluding women and children, for only five loaves of bread and two fish; (cf. Matthew 14: 13-21; Mark 6: 33-44; Luke 9: 12-17; and John 6: 1-13), or in another case when Jesus multiplied seven loaves of bread and some fish for four thousand men apart from children and women, and gathered the fragments for seven baskets full of bread (cf. Matthew 15:32-38; Mark 8: 1-9).  Maybe, they were present on these miracles of the multiplication of the bread that is why they recognized Jesus from the breaking of the bread with the ceremonial rite.  That’s how they related to the unbelieving disciples.  They were emotionally telling their encounter with Jesus with action to dramatize the event of meeting Jesus face to face.  This was very important moment in their lives, to give witness to the Apostles and disciples.  They became apostles to the Apostles, meaning the one being sent to the others being sent.

In that place where the Apostles and the other disciples, with the two disciples from Emmaus were lodging and hiding, and “While they were speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’.” (Luke 24: 36).  Jesus, once more appeared to his disciples with the same greetings of assurance, comfort, forgiveness, and understanding and above all love, “Peace be with you.”   Jesus guarantees them that he does not count what they did during his passion, suffering, and death, that they abandoned him and left him alone in the Calvary, that they lost their faith, hope with disappointment.  Now, that he has risen from the dead, that he has finished his mission entrusted to him by his Father, he wanted also that his disciples become courageous enough to spread the good news of the Reign-Kingdom of God, where there is peace, love, joy and fullness of life, and the forgiveness of sins. 

“But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost” (Luke 24: 37).  In just a few days or week, the disciples were disconnected to Jesus, for they were frightened and surprised, and terrified, as if they were seeing a ghost instead of the person of Jesus.  They even forgot the face and voice of their Master and Teacher, although, it was true that he changed in appearance after his resurrection, he had a new form like what had happened in the Mountain of Tabor where he transfigured.  The three disciples with him in the mountain were dazzled by the brilliance of his face and the shining of his clothes.  The disciples were not yet convinced that Jesus was raised from the dead, that, it is impossible for a dead man to come back to life on its own capacity.  To make his disciples removed their doubt and the fear of the ghost, “Then he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled?  And why do questions arise in your heart?  Look at my hands and my feet [and side], that it is myself.  Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have’. And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24: 38-40). To prove that he is really and truly alive, he showed all the wounds and nail marks in his hands and feet and maybe his side cut with the soldier’s lance.  That he has flesh and bones as compare to the ghost (spirit, kaluluwa or multo).   “While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed . . .” (Luke 24: 41); the disciples still disbelieving, skeptical, unbelieving, doubtful, dubious, unconvinced and suspicious although they were joyful yet were astonished, shocked, and surprised of what they were seeing and witnessing.  So Jesus, to demonstrate his existence,   “. . . he asked them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’  They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them” (Luke 24: 41-43).  If he is a ghost, any material things he will hold will drop freely; he cannot grasp anything for he is a soul, a spirit without flesh, skin and bones to hold what he is about to grip and to clutch.  Even the food he is eating, it can be seen falling down in his belly.  But Jesus, with flesh, skin, bones, with physical body as well as spiritual soul, is alive.  He can hold material things without dropping, can grasp and clutch and hold them like all of us living.

To make it clear to the disciples, Jesus explained to them as he told the other two disciples from Emmaus all about himself.  He also brought to mind what he had said before he was put to death and he was still with them.  “He said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24: 44).  Everything written in the scriptures were clarified by Jesus.  This time, Jesus became theologian explaining to his disciples what was written in the scripture (the Old Testament or the Hebrew bible), from the Books of Genesis, Exodus to Deuteronomy, known as Torah, to the Books of the Prophets.  Little by little, the disciples understood the scriptures.  “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.  And he said to them, ‘Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24: 45-47).  The Christ must suffer and die, according to the scripture but will rise from the dead on the third day.  When he comes back, in his name, repentance for the sake of the Kingdom of God must be preached for the forgiveness of sins and broken relation through reconciliation between men and women, and God is restored; this will be preached throughout the whole world beginning from Jerusalem in Jesus’ name.  “You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24: 48).   And he encouraged his disciples to be preachers of this repentance for the forgiveness of sins, since they were the first ones who received forgiveness from the resurrected Jesus, the Christ. 

Second Sunday of Easter (B) Sunday of Divine Mercy

April 8, 2018

Readings:

First Reading; Acts of the Apostles 4: 32-35

Psalm: 118

Second Reading: 1 John 5: 1-6

Gospel reading according to John (20: 19-31)

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Homily:  Appearance of Jesus to his Disciples and to doubting Thomas

Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and he is alive! 

But almost all the disciples, particularly the apostles, were in hiding and nowhere to be found due to the fear of the Jewish authorities, that they might be put to prisons, interrogated by the elders and leaders of the temple about Jesus, King of the Jews, and that they might suffer and die the same fate of their Master and Teacher.  They did not yet understand what Jesus told them and what was written in the Scriptures about the suffering servant, about the Lamb of God, the meaning of the Passover, the water flowed from the side of the temple and about his crucifixion, death and resurrection, etc.  The disciples were afraid, and it hindered them to move from their hiding places.  They were all stupor because of fear, anxiety, horror and all forms of fear, of what will happen to them now that their Master and Teacher was gone, for they did not believe what the women told them about Jesus’ resurrection and brought back to life, as what the angels told the women, especially of Mary of Magdala’s report.     

So, to remove that fear of the disciples, Jesus appeared to them.  “On the evening of that first day of the week” (John 20: 19); it was evening for the disciples were still in the dark moment of lost, grief and death of Jesus Christ, the light of the new day did not show yet to them.  They were covering and hiding in the dark places so that nobody can see them.  It was already a week past when Jesus was raised from the dead. “. . . when the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews” (John 20: 19), the doors were locked, maybe double locked, so that nobody can come in and goes out, so that people outside will not see them and they might think that nobody is inside in that locked doors.  All of this is because of fear of the Jews, especially the authorities from the temple.  “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’.” (John 20: 19).  Despite the doors were locked, Jesus was able to penetrate in that closed doors, came in and now was standing in their midst.  He greeted them and said to them, “Peace be with you,” as if he was saying to them, “Do not be afraid about the Jews and even to death for I won them,” or “Do not fear of me, I have already forgiven you when you abandoned me, and let me die alone.”  There is nothing to fear for Jesus was conquered all, even death.  He has triumphed over Satan, the enemy of God, as well.

To prove that he is alive and not a ghost, he showed the marks of nails that pinned his hands and feet on the cross.  “When he had said this [Peace be with you], he showed them his hands [and feet] and his side” (John 20: 20).  After he showed his hands, feet and side, that the only time the disciples believed and rejoiced.  Now that they saw him and the evidences marked in his body, they believed.  The saying still goes, “To see is to believe.”  Unless otherwise they see it, they would not believe it.  “The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20: 20).  What if Jesus did not show himself right away to these disciples of him?  Did they rejoice and believe to Jesus resurrection from the dead?  Did they have courage to face their enemies?  Did they continue hiding and/or where did they go to hide themselves from the authorities?  But Jesus was promptly to grasp and understand the situation of his disciples, so he revealed himself to them early at night where the disciples were hiding.  Jesus’s appearance and peace brought joy and rejoicing to his disciples and to us as well. 

For the second time, “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you’.” (John 20: 21) to sink to their heart, mind, soul and body that they are forgiven, nothing to worry about and they were understood.  The peace of Jesus is greater than those in authority, with power but cannot save and serve.  The peace of the Lord releases those in bandage of sin and death.  The peace of the Lord gives life to the fullest. After giving the second peace offering, Jesus was commissioning his disciples to proclaim the Good News throughout the whole world.  “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20: 21).  Jesus knew that his Father was the One who sent him in the world to announce the Kingdom of God’s love and mercy and compassion.  Now, it was the Son of God who is sending the disciples into the world to proclaim what they have heard, saw, learned from Jesus, the Christ.  Though the disciples were still afraid, Jesus gave them encouragement and assurance by giving them the power of the Holy Spirit.  “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Received the Holy Spirit” (John 20: 22).  At this early point in time, Jesus gave to his disciples the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit of love, patience endurance, perseverance, courage to all hardships and pains they will encounter when they go out into the whole world, with the command of forgiveness of sins, “Whose sins you forgive are forgive them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20: 23).  The resurrection of Jesus brought also of the forgiveness of our sins.

One of the disciples, who hid himself too far from the community of locked doors, Thomas, Didymus (Thomas in Aramaic and Didymus in Greek both mean twin)  sometimes called the doubting Thomas, was not around when Jesus for the first time appeared to his disciples, and learned that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  “Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord’.” (John 20: 24-25).  Now that they have courage to face their fear, maybe they went out from their hiding, looked for Thomas who was hiding too and when they found him they told him what had happened in the past week.  “But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe’.”  He was not easy to believe or convince, unless he sees the nail marks in his hands and feet, and touch/feel the wound at Jesus’ side pierced with lance.  Again, as truly Jew he needs signs to prove the truth. 

 

Now, he went to that house where doors were locked and all the disciples were present.  They were telling Thomas about their experienced when Jesus appeared and entered while the doors was locked a week ago after his resurrection and appearance.  He was told how they were forgiven and received the peace and the Holy Spirit after they were commissioned to the world.  “Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them.  Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’  Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hands and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe’.” (John 20: 26-27).  Thomas put his finger into Jesus’ hands and saw the nail marks on them, and he even put his hand on his side and felt the warmth of his wound.  After this, “Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God’.”  He was crying, and tears fell down on his face, cheek, beard and all the hair of his skin were raised up, his heart was pumping fast, for now he saw his Master and Teacher alive; his unbelief was changed with highest faith and unfathomable belief.  “My God and my Lord” was the confession of an eyewitness, who experienced the presence of God and Lord.  He or she claims also who God and Lord is.

Another truth is revealed not only to his disciples, especially to Thomas, but even to us, “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20: 29).  We are blessed indeed for though we did not see Jesus when he was born, became man, turned to adult, ministering in Galilee, feeding thousands, healing different kinds of sickness and disease, raising dead to life, and many other works of God he performed, and in the end suffered and died on the cross, but on the third day he rose again from the dead.  All of these we were not experienced and not seen yet we believe in him who died for the expiation of our sins and that we might bring to God his Father and to have eternal life in the Kingdom were his disciples preached to us.

John concluded his gospel by saying, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name” (John 20: 30-31).  Yes, we believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of God, who is now with us until the end of time.  Amen.