This Sunday has us recall the noted “I am the vine” passage from John. I can’t help it, but I change the metaphor in my mind to an apple orchard for I was raised in an area of fruit farms that were redolent in the spring with the perfume of uncountable, pink-tinged white blossoms. The presence of acres upon acres of orchards was manifestly pervasive. Even on a hot steaming late summer day, one could smell the apples with every breath.
Orchard work continued year-round. Aged and failing trees needed to be uprooted and burned, the newest and most desirable varietals needed to be planted. Tractors with huge trailing sprayers meandered up and down orderly rows at particular times of the growing season to repel or banish insect pests, and, yes, the trees needed to be pruned which these days is a mechanized process, to enhance fruit production and ease the labor of picking the ripe bits of gastronomic heaven into which the fragrant blossoms matured.
All fruit producing plants need care, protection from natural predators, and consistent regular measures to enhance fruit production. In a sense, today’s parable is almost mercantile… the goal is fruit to bring to market, that is to say, souls to commune with and worship God for eternity in a paradise we are unable to imagine but which surely must contain Honey Crisp, MacIntosh, and Northern Spy apples. Note what the passage says, “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit”. It isn’t enough for us to be a branch on Jesus’ the vine (or apple tree) looking pretty and healthy. No, we are obliged to contribute to the harvest. And the grower, God the Father, doesn’t hesitate to do what is needed to maximize the harvest which brings us to the ‘pruning’.
We’ve all been there and endured painful life events. I invite us to, seemingly unpleasant as it is, to reflect on the painful or fearful times in our lives. I recall a time when symptoms emerged, surgery ensued, and a diagnosis of cancer was made. I don’t recall a sense of heightened awareness of priorities at the time but now through the lens of recollection I do see with crystal clarity how my life-focus, thoughts, and behaviors changed, deepened, and evolved even though I was an already committed believer to the point where I told my surgeon when he ‘rounded’ on me in the hospital that I had nothing to do except pray at the moment and asked if he had anything he wanted me to pray for. That prompted a surprising conversation and now I see in the context of our Gospel passage that I produced some fruit and more since. And so, it goes.
Reflect on those troubling moments in your past, the pruning, and examine where that pain took you. But there is more. Jesus also said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want, and it will be done for you.” We’ve long understood that prayers are always answered, and the cliché is, “sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no, and sometimes it is I have something better for you”. But this passage promises the Lord will give us whatever we want. He will always respond ‘yes’ but did you see the caveat, “If you remain in me…”? That’s the key. Remaining in him. Staying connected by the Sacraments, studying Scripture, and prayer. St. Paul tells us in another place to “pray without ceasing” but that is easy if we always remain connected to him like a branch on a vine (or apple tree). Let’s think about that.
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