Fifth Sunday of Easter
Have you heard of someone having a green thumb? Someone who knows what they’re doing and has a knack for gardening? Well that’s not exactly me. The only time I have a green thumb is when I make a mess scooping out avocados to make guacamole. We do have a big vegetable garden in the back yard though – started by the previous owners of our house of course. If that weren’t already there, I’m sure it would have been way down on the list of potential uses for that space, under swimming pool, tennis court, and permanent bounce-house. Turns out it’s cheaper to get some tomato plants from Home Depot and put them in the ground than to put in a tennis court – and I’m even worse at tennis, so garden it is!
Last year was the first year we gave it a shot. We tried a few different vegetables – and I suppose we had the most “success” with our tomatoes. Our kids were so excited when the tomatoes first started growing – so excited that they started picking some right off the plant! We had to explain to them how these tiny green tomatoes weren’t ready to pick yet, and now they weren’t going to keep growing because they weren’t connected to the plant anymore. We left the rest of them on, and by the end of the season, they were…well, slightly less tiny and mostly red-ish. We learned some good lessons from last year, and we’re looking forward to seeing if the end result is any better this year.
In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus says, “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.” Out of all of Jesus’ parables and imagery, I think this is one of the most straightforward for us to understand. You don’t need a green thumb to see what Jesus is getting at here – even my kids could understand this image, that for something to continue growing, it needs to be connected to the plant.
If we want to ‘bear fruit’ in our spiritual lives, we have to stay connected to the vine! We have to be praying every day, going to Mass every Sunday, and spending time with those friends who support us in our faith – who can challenge us when we need it, encourage us when we need it, and whom we can support in return. We need to stay connected to Jesus also through our acts of service – whether that’s making sandwiches for the homeless, or more day-to-day things like being charitable and patient with those we live with and anticipating their needs.
I’ve tried to do this in my own life, and sometimes admittedly I’ve been better connected than other times. But most of the people I know who have gotten disconnected from the vine have spiritually shriveled up. Fortunately for us, Jesus can reattach us to the vine, unlike our tomato plants in the backyard, where that green tomato isn’t going back on no matter how much duct tape or super glue I might use. All we have to do is turn back toward him, head to Confession and receive God’s grace and forgiveness, and maybe text some of our fellow tomatoes who are still on the vine, and do some reconnecting there as well. As Jesus says, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”