05-09-2012, 12:44 PM
09 May, 2012, Fifth Wednesday of Easter
BEING PRUNED IN FAITH THROUGH THE WORD AND THE BODY OF CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 15:1-6; JN 15:1-8
In our spiritual life, it is important that we realize that faith in Christ is only the beginning of salvation. This is because salvation entails that we become more and more Christ in our life. The truth is that although all of us are baptized in Christ, we have yet to become Christ in our lives. Most of us still have much residues of sin in us. We know very well that human beings are not robots. We do not change overnight. The grace of God does not destroy human nature. More often than not, God’s grace will work slowly and gradually, transforming us into more and more like Christ. Thus, as Jesus tells us in the gospel, we need to be pruned. Even though some of us might be bearing fruit, we need to be pruned further so that we can bear even more.
This was certainly the case of the early Christians as well. Today, we read in the first reading how some members of the Pharisees who were converted to Christianity insisted that the Gentles who would became believers must be circumcised and be instructed to keep the Law of Moses or else they could not be saved. Yes, the Jewish Christians still could not let go of their old yeast, their Jewish traditions, even when they became Christians. Not only did they still want to cling to their old and past traditions but they wanted to impose them on others. Of course, they did it in good will, believing that observing the Mosaic Laws were necessary for salvation. But we will find out later that they were mistaken, because the basis of Christian salvation is not founded on observance of the Traditions of Moses but on the grace of Jesus Christ. They, like us, also need to grow in faith, in understanding and in authentic love.
How then can we be pruned so that our faith will become purer, more authentic and liberating? Pruning requires that we keep in constant union with Jesus since Jesus is the vine and we are His branches. It is only by remaining in Him that we can bear fruit in plenty. Indeed, as Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, we become truly His disciples only when we are in union with Him. And that is not all, He also promised us that when we become identified with Him, we will bear fruit and all that we ask we shall get, since we will only pray and ask in the mind of Christ which is the mind of God. In other words, if our prayers and our lives bear fruit, it is because being grafted onto Christ, He will work in and through us.
But how can we maintain our union with Jesus so that we can be pruned to become more and more like Him? The first way of pruning of course is to deepen our personal prayer life. This deepening of our prayer life entails first and foremost an assimilation of His word. He told His disciples, “You are pruned already by means of the word that I have spoken to you.” Yes, it is by being in contact with the Word, praying, reflecting and meditating on the Word of God, which is Jesus Himself, that we become enlightened in the truth.
But it is not simply an intellectual reflection on the Word. What is even more important, as Jesus tells us in the gospel, is to make our home in Him as He makes His in us. This means that we must go beyond simply reflecting on the Word of God, which is certainly important. But more than this, we need to come into contact with the person of Jesus. We Christians do not actually worship the Word as words, but the Word for us is incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ. For us to worship the Word is nothing else but to worship Jesus who stands behind the Word that is read. Consequently, meditation on the Word must lead to an affective and contemplative relationship with Jesus. Only then could the Word become incarnated and our relationship with Jesus becomes truly personal, real and life-giving.
However, being pruned through our personal prayer life is not the only way we are inserted into Christ. There is still another concrete way, namely, by our union with the Christian community. To be part of the Vine requires that Christian life be lived not in an individualistic way, isolated and cut off from the rest of the Christian community. Nay, Christ is truly present in the Christian community as well and that is why we are members of the body of Christ. If that is so, it means that to be pruned in our spiritual life entails that we grow in faith and love within the Christian community. Of course, being human and also differing in degree in spiritual life, we are bound to have friction, misunderstandings, quarrels and hurts. Yet, it is only within such an environment that our spiritual life is tested and we learn to grow in understanding, forgiveness and patience. This was precisely the case of the early Christians. The Jewish Christians and the Hellenistic Christians had some disagreements over the question of observing Jewish Traditions. It was in the process of such misunderstandings that they came to understand each other better. Running away from problems in community life is but a form of escapism from the need to purify our own egotism and pride.
But more importantly, being inserted into the Christian community brings out two fundamental rules of preserving ourselves in the truth. Firstly, the importance of communal discernment. For if Christ is to be found, He is found precisely in the Christian community. He speaks in all of us and together we will be able to discern and discover the Spirit of Jesus speaking to us. Communal discernment therefore is the surest way of being faithful to Jesus. Not to consult the community of believers to which we belong is surely to cut ourselves away from Jesus. It is an indication of pride and arrogance, which has no place in our spiritual life. Those of us who act without consulting the community will end up as dictators, doing our own will instead of doing the will of God. It is for this reason that the question of the necessity of observing the Jewish Traditions was debated among the Christians.
Secondly, where communal discernment cannot come to a consensus, then there is the necessity of listening to the authoritative leaders of the community who are the representatives of Christ. Hence, when the early Christians could not agree among themselves, they brought the case to the authorities, that is, the apostles and the elders of the Church to discern what the Lord required of them. Thus, through common discernment, discussion and prayer together with the leaders of the Church, they could come to a decision which is of the Holy Spirit. For not only does Christ speak in all Christians gathered together as the body of Christ but He speaks in an authoritative manner through the appointed leaders of the Church.
As a result of their common discernment in the Spirit and in obedience to the legitimate leaders of the Church, they were able to make the right decision of admitting the Gentiles into the Church without the need to observe Jewish traditions. It was very much due to this decision that the Church was thrown open to the non-Jews and grew rapidly. Without that decision in Jerusalem, Christianity would not have spread to the ends of the earth but would have remained simply among the Jews and seen as an ethnic religion rather than a universal faith.
Hence, we must take heed of the words of Jesus seriously that if we want to bear fruit in plenty, we must remain with Him and in Him, for cut off from Him we can do nothing. Instead, we will only wither and die. We must remain in Jesus, by reflecting and contemplating on His Word, and by listening to Him speaking to us in the Christian community and especially in its authorized leaders.
In this way, we can be sure that we are always in union with Jesus and pruned by our contact with the Word and the Christian community, we will grow in humility, in understanding of the Truth and most of all in love. In this way we will manifest the glory of the Father and we will bear fruits because they will see us as the disciples, the representatives of Christ.
In fact those who claim to have a deep relationship with Jesus but not in communion with the members of the body of Christ are but deceiving themselves. It is mere sentimentalism or an individualistic faith. Conversely those who supposedly are very much involved in the life of the Christian community but have no personal prayer life are also deceiving themselves in their relationship with Christ. It would be more of a social involvement rather than a real union with Christ. Finally, those who claim to be so intensely in union with Christ, both personally and with the community, but have no love for the leaders of the Church and lack respect and reverence for their authority and leadership, too manifest the lack of humility and the love of Christ within them. Let us reflect.
BEING PRUNED IN FAITH THROUGH THE WORD AND THE BODY OF CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 15:1-6; JN 15:1-8
In our spiritual life, it is important that we realize that faith in Christ is only the beginning of salvation. This is because salvation entails that we become more and more Christ in our life. The truth is that although all of us are baptized in Christ, we have yet to become Christ in our lives. Most of us still have much residues of sin in us. We know very well that human beings are not robots. We do not change overnight. The grace of God does not destroy human nature. More often than not, God’s grace will work slowly and gradually, transforming us into more and more like Christ. Thus, as Jesus tells us in the gospel, we need to be pruned. Even though some of us might be bearing fruit, we need to be pruned further so that we can bear even more.
This was certainly the case of the early Christians as well. Today, we read in the first reading how some members of the Pharisees who were converted to Christianity insisted that the Gentles who would became believers must be circumcised and be instructed to keep the Law of Moses or else they could not be saved. Yes, the Jewish Christians still could not let go of their old yeast, their Jewish traditions, even when they became Christians. Not only did they still want to cling to their old and past traditions but they wanted to impose them on others. Of course, they did it in good will, believing that observing the Mosaic Laws were necessary for salvation. But we will find out later that they were mistaken, because the basis of Christian salvation is not founded on observance of the Traditions of Moses but on the grace of Jesus Christ. They, like us, also need to grow in faith, in understanding and in authentic love.
How then can we be pruned so that our faith will become purer, more authentic and liberating? Pruning requires that we keep in constant union with Jesus since Jesus is the vine and we are His branches. It is only by remaining in Him that we can bear fruit in plenty. Indeed, as Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, we become truly His disciples only when we are in union with Him. And that is not all, He also promised us that when we become identified with Him, we will bear fruit and all that we ask we shall get, since we will only pray and ask in the mind of Christ which is the mind of God. In other words, if our prayers and our lives bear fruit, it is because being grafted onto Christ, He will work in and through us.
But how can we maintain our union with Jesus so that we can be pruned to become more and more like Him? The first way of pruning of course is to deepen our personal prayer life. This deepening of our prayer life entails first and foremost an assimilation of His word. He told His disciples, “You are pruned already by means of the word that I have spoken to you.” Yes, it is by being in contact with the Word, praying, reflecting and meditating on the Word of God, which is Jesus Himself, that we become enlightened in the truth.
But it is not simply an intellectual reflection on the Word. What is even more important, as Jesus tells us in the gospel, is to make our home in Him as He makes His in us. This means that we must go beyond simply reflecting on the Word of God, which is certainly important. But more than this, we need to come into contact with the person of Jesus. We Christians do not actually worship the Word as words, but the Word for us is incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ. For us to worship the Word is nothing else but to worship Jesus who stands behind the Word that is read. Consequently, meditation on the Word must lead to an affective and contemplative relationship with Jesus. Only then could the Word become incarnated and our relationship with Jesus becomes truly personal, real and life-giving.
However, being pruned through our personal prayer life is not the only way we are inserted into Christ. There is still another concrete way, namely, by our union with the Christian community. To be part of the Vine requires that Christian life be lived not in an individualistic way, isolated and cut off from the rest of the Christian community. Nay, Christ is truly present in the Christian community as well and that is why we are members of the body of Christ. If that is so, it means that to be pruned in our spiritual life entails that we grow in faith and love within the Christian community. Of course, being human and also differing in degree in spiritual life, we are bound to have friction, misunderstandings, quarrels and hurts. Yet, it is only within such an environment that our spiritual life is tested and we learn to grow in understanding, forgiveness and patience. This was precisely the case of the early Christians. The Jewish Christians and the Hellenistic Christians had some disagreements over the question of observing Jewish Traditions. It was in the process of such misunderstandings that they came to understand each other better. Running away from problems in community life is but a form of escapism from the need to purify our own egotism and pride.
But more importantly, being inserted into the Christian community brings out two fundamental rules of preserving ourselves in the truth. Firstly, the importance of communal discernment. For if Christ is to be found, He is found precisely in the Christian community. He speaks in all of us and together we will be able to discern and discover the Spirit of Jesus speaking to us. Communal discernment therefore is the surest way of being faithful to Jesus. Not to consult the community of believers to which we belong is surely to cut ourselves away from Jesus. It is an indication of pride and arrogance, which has no place in our spiritual life. Those of us who act without consulting the community will end up as dictators, doing our own will instead of doing the will of God. It is for this reason that the question of the necessity of observing the Jewish Traditions was debated among the Christians.
Secondly, where communal discernment cannot come to a consensus, then there is the necessity of listening to the authoritative leaders of the community who are the representatives of Christ. Hence, when the early Christians could not agree among themselves, they brought the case to the authorities, that is, the apostles and the elders of the Church to discern what the Lord required of them. Thus, through common discernment, discussion and prayer together with the leaders of the Church, they could come to a decision which is of the Holy Spirit. For not only does Christ speak in all Christians gathered together as the body of Christ but He speaks in an authoritative manner through the appointed leaders of the Church.
As a result of their common discernment in the Spirit and in obedience to the legitimate leaders of the Church, they were able to make the right decision of admitting the Gentiles into the Church without the need to observe Jewish traditions. It was very much due to this decision that the Church was thrown open to the non-Jews and grew rapidly. Without that decision in Jerusalem, Christianity would not have spread to the ends of the earth but would have remained simply among the Jews and seen as an ethnic religion rather than a universal faith.
Hence, we must take heed of the words of Jesus seriously that if we want to bear fruit in plenty, we must remain with Him and in Him, for cut off from Him we can do nothing. Instead, we will only wither and die. We must remain in Jesus, by reflecting and contemplating on His Word, and by listening to Him speaking to us in the Christian community and especially in its authorized leaders.
In this way, we can be sure that we are always in union with Jesus and pruned by our contact with the Word and the Christian community, we will grow in humility, in understanding of the Truth and most of all in love. In this way we will manifest the glory of the Father and we will bear fruits because they will see us as the disciples, the representatives of Christ.
In fact those who claim to have a deep relationship with Jesus but not in communion with the members of the body of Christ are but deceiving themselves. It is mere sentimentalism or an individualistic faith. Conversely those who supposedly are very much involved in the life of the Christian community but have no personal prayer life are also deceiving themselves in their relationship with Christ. It would be more of a social involvement rather than a real union with Christ. Finally, those who claim to be so intensely in union with Christ, both personally and with the community, but have no love for the leaders of the Church and lack respect and reverence for their authority and leadership, too manifest the lack of humility and the love of Christ within them. Let us reflect.