Homilies

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER: UNITY, INTIMACY, AND INDWELLING

LAST SUNDAY, we heard of the image of Jesus as Good Shepherd. Today, we heard of another image, that is, the vine. The Old Testament literature often speaks of the people of Israel as God’s vineyard producing sour grapes because of their infidelity (see Ps 80; Is 5; Jer 2:21; Ez 15). When Jesus applies this as his personal image, he contrasts Himself to Israel’ infidelity; he affirms his faithfulness in bearing the fruit of God’s work. God finds true fidelity in Jesus a fidelity which culminated in his self-donation on the Cross. 

Let us try to reflect on what this image of the vine can help us in living out the Christian life that is expected of us.

First, the image of vine-branches demonstrates what the Church should be. As a Body of Christ, the members should remain united with their head who is Christ. The Christian’s union with Christ should be seen as something “personal”. Therefore, if our relationship with Christ is only nominal, then it is not a true relationship. In that case, we can never be true Christians, because our affinity is only by name. And this is the problem among secularized Christians. In their life, Christ can never be observed because there is a discrepancy between their identity (Christian) and their life (morals). 
 
Second, the fruit of the vine-branches relationship is intimacy. Intimacy is something we can gain in this kind of relationship. Intimacy suggests knowledge about the “other,” so much so that one can speak on behalf of the “other.”  We also have heard this in last week’s gospel wherein Christ said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Intimacy demands a quantity of time, as well as a “quality time.” We can only be intimate with Christ if we search for him regularly, and likewise, if we seriously spend time with him in prayer and in reading the word of God. 

Third, if we reflect further, the word “abiding” is significant to our reflections. Abiding is “dwelling” or “living” in the other. We can find this in the life of the Trinitarian God, in which one person dwells in the other. For instance, Jesus once said, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” In the same way, our relationship with Christ asks for indwelling. We should live in Christ and equally, Christ should live in us. The second reading gives us a form of indwelling: love.  When we show love to our brothers and sisters, God can be seen in us because of the fact that God is love. But sometimes we can split the love of God and love of neighbor. I remember a devout woman who goes to mass every day, but as soon as she goes back to her home, she becomes dispassionately cold to her husband and daughter. The husband thought all the while that her wife got the “bad attitude” from the Church, because she goes there daily. Consequently, the husband could not see Christ living in her.

This vine-branches relationship that we have reflected so far can be applied to marital relationship. The man and wife are called to live as one. A key to its fulfillment is, first, to live in intimacy which brings knowledge for each other. As years go by, each spouse should have known each other more deeply. If a wife comments, “Actually, my husband until now remains a mystery to me,” this shows that intimacy is not in a picture. But if she says, “I didn’t react that much because I knew that in five minutes he would calm down,” that is an index of intimacy. Moreover, husbands and wives should dwell in each other so that they could live as one. This takes a long process though. When both husband and wife have already lived with “one mind and one heart”, there the intimacy and indwelling happened. 

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