5th Sunday of Easter - Year B - The True Vine & “O Word of God”
This weekend’s Gospel (Jn 15:1-8) teaches us that we must cling to Jesus the way that a vine is attached to a branch. We do this by recognizing that God is at work in everyone and by striving to keep His commands. Our lives must grow from Jesus. We are a part of Him and all the force of our lives must come from Him. The only way to be disconnected from Jesus is to be broken off from Him. Sin clearly does not break us off from Him when we choose to repent, so repentance must always be at the heart of our life with Jesus.
We all want to go to heaven. How we wish there was a stairway, or an airplane that can fly us straight there. But there is only one way to heaven: Jesus. This weekend, He gives us the formula to get there: “Remain in me as I remain in you” (Jn 15:4). He also gives us this metaphor: “I am the true vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5).
We are invited and challenged to listen to those who choose the Lord, even if we know that in the past such people may have been against the Lord (like Paul in our first reading). We are invited and challenged to deepen our belief in the Lord Jesus and always to be faithful in loving one another. We are invited and challenged to cling to the Lord, no matter how we fail or sin. Christ has risen from the dead in order to draw us to Himself and to stay connected to Him. Let us sing alleluia and give thanks to the Lord for being the True Vine.
In honor of the Gospel, we would like to share our latest video, "O Word of God", a meditative hymn with an ostinato refrain that asks God to ‘open our hearts’ and ‘transform our lives’ through His Word. The song draws verses from Psalm 40, Psalm 95, Psalm 146 and Psalm 23, and is appropriate for offertory, as an acclamation to ‘greet the Word‘ during a non-Eucharistic liturgy, and even for Reconciliation services.
Video can be watched by clicking here or on the picture below:
