🙏 SUNDAY INSIGHTS - THE 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER 🙏

First Reading - Acts 9:26-31 

Second Reading - 1 John 3:18-24

Gospel - John 15:1-8

Some years ago, Mother Teresa was asked by a reporter one day, “What is your biggest problem?” Without a moment of hesitation, Mother Teresa answered with one word: “Professionalism.” She said: “Here are these servants of Jesus who care for the poorest of the poor. I have one who just went off and came back with her medical degree. Others have come back with registered nurse degrees. Another with a master’s in social work… and when they came back with their degrees… their first question always is, ‘Where is my office?’ Then she said, ‘But you know what I do? I send them over to the House of the Dying where they simply hold the hands of dying people for six months, and after that, they’re ready to be servants again.’ This was the greatness of Mother Teresa… her unflinching commitment to stay connected to Christ’s Servant Mentality.

Today's readings invite us to reflect on the importance of authenticity in our Christian faith and the necessity of abiding in Christ in order to bear fruit in our lives.

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we witness the transformation of Saul, who was once a persecutor of the early Christians but became one of the most fervent apostles of Christ, known as Paul. After his conversion, Paul faced skepticism and doubt from the other disciples, who were understandably cautious given his past. However, it was through the authenticity of Paul's conversion and his sincere commitment to following Christ that he gained acceptance among the believers in Jerusalem. Paul's genuine repentance and fervent proclamation of the Gospel not only earned him the trust of the disciples but also contributed to the growth of the Church as he embarked on his missionary journeys.

In the second reading from the first letter of John, we are reminded of the importance of love in our Christian walk. John emphasizes that our love for one another should not merely be words or empty gestures but should be demonstrated through our actions. True love is shown through deeds of kindness, compassion, and service to others. When we love one another authentically and selflessly, we abide in God, and His Spirit dwells within us, guiding and empowering us to live according to His will.

In the Gospel passage from John, Jesus uses the metaphor of the vine and the branches to illustrate the intimate relationship between Him and His followers. He declares, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Just as the branches draw nourishment and life from the vine to produce fruit, so too must we abide in Christ to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, and righteousness in our lives. When we remain connected to Christ through prayer, worship, Scripture, and sacraments, His life flows through us, enabling us to fulfill our purpose and glorify God.

Dear friends, we need pruning in our Christian life. Cutting out of our lives everything that is contrary to the spirit of Jesus and renewing our commitment to Christian ideals in our lives every day is the first type of self-imposed pruning expected of us. A second means of pruning is practicing self-control over our evil inclinations, sinful addictions and aberrations. Cordial mingling in our neighborhood and society with people of different cultures, races, religions and orientations enables us, with God’s grace, to prune away our selfish, judgmental, prejudicial tendencies so that we can treat others in our society with Christian charity and openness. Jesus prunes, purifies and strengthens us by enabling us to face with the courage of our Christian convictions, the pain and sufferings, contradictions and difficulties which He permits to enter our lives.

Let us abide in Christ and let Christ abide in us. The four Gospels teach us how to become true disciples of Jesus and how to abide in him as branches abide in the main trunk of the vine and how to draw their life from the vine. Personal and liturgical prayers, frequenting of the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation, daily and meditative reading of the Bible, and selfless, loving acts of kindness, mercy and mutual loving forgiveness, all the fruits of God’s Grace acting within us, assist us in abiding in Jesus, the true Vine, as fruit-bearing branches.