Purified by Love

5th Sunday of Easter May 3
O sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders; in the sight of the nations he has shown his deliverance, alleluia.
First reading                                      Acts 9:26-31
When Saul got to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him: they could not believe he was really a disciple. Barnabas, however, took charge of him, introduced him to the apostles, and explained how the Lord had appeared to Saul and spoken to him on his journey, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Saul now started to go round with them in Jerusalem, preaching fearlessly in the name of the Lord. But after he had spoken to the Hellenists, and argued with them, they became determined to kill him. When the brothers knew, they took him to Caesarea, and sent him off from there to Tarsus.   The churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm                                               Psalm 21:26-28,30-32
Second reading                               1 John 3:18-24

My children,
our love is not to be just words or mere talk,
but something real and active;
only by this can we be certain
that we are children of the truth
and be able to quieten our conscience in his presence,
whatever accusations it may raise against us,
because God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,
we need not be afraid in God’s presence,
and whatever we ask him,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him.
We know that he lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.

Gospel                                         John 15:1-8

Jesus said:
‘I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes to make it bear even more.
You are pruned already,
by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
but must remain part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,
and they are burnt.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it.
It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,
and then you will be my disciples.’

Reflection

By Theresa Ballo

Ironic it may seem yet, a loss, is God’s way of purifying us. It is His way of leading us to something better and presenting us the value of what was taken away from us. Nevertheless, a lost fight, a lost pet, or even a lost loved one is not gone, totally and perfectly. It just changes its form. It was transformed into something we can always look back to and bring back various emotions we felt when we were in that moment, with that someone. It is transformed into memories.

Have we ever imagined ourselves in the disciples’ place when Jesus died on the cross and resurrected from death? I bet it is a roller coaster ride of emotions and confusion of thoughts. The disciples have been purified by Jesus’ death. They have been pruned by the word that they heard from Jesus. “I am the vine, you are the branches!” This passage reminds us that we are part of Jesus. We are one with Him simply because there is no vine that does not have any branch nor there is no producing branch unless it is attached to the vine. The Gospel prompts us to remain united to the vine, to Jesus, so as not to die and so as to bear fruit.

“Remain in me, as I in you.” To continue to live an intimate relationship with Jesus, He said these words to His disciples. Jesus became an internal fortress to each of them. He may not be physically present throughout their journey yet His memories, His teachings, and His love live on. They even reach all of us through the Scriptures.

Years ago, I met a stranger, an old woman in a wake. After a small talk, she told me that the only way to be completely consoled after a death of a loved one is to be able to hold on to life, to continue living, to continue to bear fruit, and  to continue to love. I think this is better be shared in Filipino, just as she said it, “Ang tanging paraan upang malamapasan ang pagkawala ng isang minamahal ay ang patuloy na mamuhay, magbunga, at magmahal pa rin.” Beautiful isn’t it? The old woman is from Bulacan, that is why her Tagalog words are beautifully chosen.

In rare times I wonder which is more painful, the loss of the dying or the loss of the living. I have not experienced the first one, especially someone who is close to me so I would not know personally its magnitude of pain. However, loss of a living or rejection, to better put it into words, was something I completely understand. I have been praying for someone to be involved in my life again. Ten years, I have been waiting for him. Sometimes he is there, then he is gone and then he goes back again. Yet, I continuously pray that we could still end up together. Until I surrendered in prayer, whatever His will for me, let it happen, just give me the courage to endure.  True enough, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for, I was rejected gently. 

After going through and overcoming that rejection, that loss and that gentle pruning, a better ME came out. My thoughts, my time, and my creativity were channeled to serving God even more. I understand better that to remain with Jesus brings forth mission- to be in the midst of our neighbor, our brothers and sisters. As in my case, to be in the midst of my fellow youth, as service and as a gift.

Prayer

Lord, I  am still awed by Your presence in my life. Thank You Lord, my vine, for being my dwelling place.  Thank You for faithfully remaining in me. Bestow on me the courage to be a fruitful branch, to bear that fruit of love on earth, that I may remain a blessing to whomever I encounter. Amen.