Christian Without Christ
Jesus said 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.” Jn 15:1-18
5th Easter Sunday Cycle B
As little children, we were very dependent on our parents for everything – for food, shelter and clothing. Later as adolescents we hardly survive if we do not get from them our daily allowance.
But as we grow up we also become more independent in many other ways. We do not anymore listen to their advice and prefer instead to spend more time with our friends.
We also become more complicated that we are not any more satisfied with what we are used to have. Our tastes become sophisticated.
This should not alarm us for this means we are just maturing into adults.
However, there is a danger that one might think overboard. One could get disillusioned and think that he is totally in control of his life. Especially when he does well he could wrongly think that he no more need of others and even of God. When one succeeds he might say “This accomplishment is solely fruit of my labor. I worked hard for this with my own blood, sweat and tears. Even God had nothing to do with this!”
Today Jesus warns us against this. As much as God wants us to subdue the earth, He wants us to remain connected with Him. In retreats, masters have preached, “If you remove Christ from Christian you are left with IAN which means I am nothing.” Jesus says the same in today’s gospel.
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