20260506 FRUITFULNESS REQUIRES UNION WITH CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
6 May 2026, Wednesday, 5th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 15:1-6 |
They were to go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders
Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.
All the members of the church saw them off, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they told how the pagans had been converted, and this news was received with the greatest satisfaction by the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders, and gave an account of all that God had done with them.
But certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had become believers objected, insisting that the pagans should be circumcised and instructed to keep the Law of Moses. The apostles and elders met to look into the matter.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 121(122):1-5 |
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
I rejoiced when I heard them say:
‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
Jerusalem is built as a city
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
For Israel’s law it is,
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
of the house of David.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn15:4,5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you,
says the Lord;
whoever remains in me bears fruit in plenty.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 15:1-8 |
I am the vine, you are the branches
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘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.’
FRUITFULNESS REQUIRES UNION WITH CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 15:1-6; PS 122:1-5; JOHN 15:1-8]
How can we grow in our faith and be effective in our mission of making Christ known and establishing His Kingdom? There are different levels of Christian maturity. The most basic level consists of Christians who only have a nominal faith. They are baptised Christians, but because they hardly grow in their faith, they are stunted. Some might even be born-again Christians, but because they fail to continue with their spiritual growth, they too will die an immature death. When newly baptised Christians, converts, or renewed Christians do not strengthen their union with the Lord, they will eventually wither in their faith. This is what the Lord reminds us in today’s Gospel.
We are called to be in union with Jesus to grow in our faith and be strong enough to face the world. In the Gospel, the Lord said, “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.” Staying in communion with the Lord is a necessity and a pre-requisite for growth. “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.”
But what does it mean to be in union with the Lord? Unfortunately, many Catholics think that faith is an individualistic affair. They mistakenly believe that one grows in faith simply by praying every day – especially devotional prayers, attending Mass regularly, and observing all the disciplines of the Church. Faith for them is just between God and self. They think that such practices are sufficient to help them grow in their spiritual life. This is where they fail to understand today’s Gospel about the Vine and the Branches. If Jesus is the Vine and we are His branches, then we need to be in union with Him. However, Jesus is not just the vine; St Paul tells us that He is the head and we are His body. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Cor 12:27) And in Ephesians, St Paul wrote, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” (Eph 4:11-13) Therefore, to be in union with Christ, we must be in union with His body, the Church as well. Indeed, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:4)
In today’s First Reading, we appreciate why it was important for Paul and Barnabas to go to Jerusalem to seek clarification for the status of the Gentile converts to Christianity. We read that some Jews from Jerusalem sought to impose their Jewish customs and traditions on the Gentile converts by saying, “Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.” In demanding this observance of circumcision and the corollary laws associated with this practice, it meant that the Gentile converts had to first accept Judaism before they could become Christians. But the truth was that they were saved by Christ, and not by observance of the Mosaic Laws.
To ensure that they were truly following what Christ had taught through the apostles, and to give credibility to what Paul and Barnabas was teaching about the faith to the Gentile Christians, a number of these converts went with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to seek clarity, agreement, and unity in faith and practices. The truth was that they could have just continued with what they were doing without consulting or getting approval from the Church in Jerusalem, especially the apostles. But they did so because they recognised the Church as one in Christ, and therefore that they must be one in faith with respect to the Lord. This goes to show that while we are saved in Christ, there can be practices that are more cultural than doctrinal. Hence, right from the start, Christians knew that their faith must be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. This means that all who profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour, must be one in doctrine, in worship, in leadership, and in fellowship.
So it goes without saying that it is insufficient to be a non-denominational Christian, which refers to those who do not belong to any Church but go to whichever one they feel is good for them. Some of them hop from one church to another, depending on their preference and convenience. They attend church service like going to the movies or frequenting supermarkets. The downside for these so-called non-denominational Christians is that their faith is weak because there is no real foundation in what they believe. They do not know what they really believe, except for the version of Christ they hear about on that day.
But when it comes to what faith in Christ consists of, they are not be able to explain it coherently because their belief is simply a basket of doctrines collected from different churches. They are not able to list the “Articles of Faith.” When we speak of the “Articles of Faith”, it means that each doctrine of the Church is coherent with the other doctrines; just like the different parts of the human body, which are distinct but all interconnected. Every Christian community or church is united in faith, in love, and in the same Spirit. This means we share a common set of doctrines and Christian traditions. We are united in beliefs and the common practices and customs through which we express our faith in Christ. Faith is always incarnated in the culture and life of the community. Faith is not an abstract reality, but one that entails common and shared practices.
Similarly, those who live their faith as individuals are not in perfect communion with the Lord. They might be observing the same faith and practices, but they are loners and individuals when they go to church for worship. They move from one parish to another, depending on their convenience and preference, especially if they are interested in finding a good preacher, or if a church has lively singing and participation. Whilst this group of people are spiritually fed, they unfortunately have no sense of belonging to any Catholic community or faith-sharing group. Just like the non-denominational Christians, they attend the services like going for a movie, not knowing those around them with whom they worship.
In good times, such spiritual nourishment might be sufficient to help them carry on in life. But in hard times, when they face crises and their faith is challenged, they can easily lose their faith because they lack the support of a community. They do not have others to share their faith, and they scarcely get to hear of the marvels that God works in the lives of others. Depending on themselves alone, and feeling lonely and unsupported in their faith, they are easily drawn to seek solutions from the world, and sometimes, when desperate, seek other religions or even the occult.
Why is it necessary to remain in communion with the Church, the Body of Christ, to grow in faith? Can we not just be good Catholics by observing the tenets of the Church? After all, some argue that joining church communities, ministries, and activities often gives them more problems and sometimes even scandalises them in their faith. They then rationalise that it is better to just come to church, pray, and then live their own lives. In the Gospel, Jesus said, “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.”
As a community of faith, we are certainly not perfect. But maturity in faith and love is tested in Christian living and loving. It is when we live and work together as a community, that we are tested in patience, forgiveness, tolerance, giving, and in charity. This is how the Lord prunes us through our life in the community.
And so, if we continue to listen to His Word as a community, share the Word of God together, and gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we will learn to grow in authentic love for each other. “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” (Heb 10:24f) Then, as a community, we extend that love beyond ourselves to the world. In this way, we fulfil the command of our Lord to be in union with Him. “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.”
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
