NECESSITY OF BEING PRUNED TO BEAR MORE FRUITS

20170517 NECESSITY OF BEING PRUNED TO BEAR MORE FRUITS

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 15:1-6 ©

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 ©

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.’

NECESSITY OF BEING PRUNED TO BEAR MORE FRUITS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 15:1-6; PS 121:1-5; JOHN 15:1-8 ]

Today, we read about the growing primitive Church seeking to reconcile with the influx of Gentile Christians.  The Church was moving out of Palestine to regions beyond and as a result an increasing number of gentiles embraced the gospel.  On one hand, this influx of new members into the Church, especially non-Jews, was good news.  But on the other hand, the early Church never thought through seriously the implications of accepting non-Jews into the faith.  Their entry into the Church caused the Jewish Christians unease in mixing with the non-Jews, especially when it came to dietary laws.  The Jewish-Christians were steeped in Jewish culture and customs even though they had accepted Christ.  Above all, the Laws of Moses were still valid and they would not easily give them up, as for hundreds of years, they were brought up in the laws of Moses which they considered sacred, as these laws were given by God.

Indeed, it was difficult for the early Church to separate culture from faith.  So the tendency was to react by protecting her customs and laws.  Hence, they sought to impose Jewish customs and practices on the Gentile Christians as well.

Today the Church faces similar challenges, especially in liturgical and moral issues.  In the area of worship, the traditionalists want to go back to the Tridentine rite of celebrating the mass and the sacraments. They argue that this is a higher form of worship as it is faithful to the doctrine of the mass as a sacrifice.  Moreover, it is celebrated with greater solemnity and reverence, giving the sense of sacred, and helping the congregation to raise their minds and hearts to God through the Latin chant and the liturgical symbols.  At the other end of the pendulum, we have the contemporaries who are more familiar with the Ordinary rite of celebrating the Eucharist. Even then, they prefer a more free and easy way of celebrating the Eucharist, using worship songs that express their sentiments and engage their minds and hearts; and which help them to be more connected with themselves and with God.  Liturgy for this group of people means active participation of body, mind, spirit.  They feel that the Tridentine rite does not help to engage them and furthermore, as it is not in the vernacular, they cannot understand and therefore feel like an observer in the liturgical celebration.

In truth, both have the right intention but are not in agreement on the means.  Ultimately, true worship, as Jesus said, must be a worship offered in Spirit and in Truth.   (cf Jn 4:21-23) Pope Francis also wrote that we need to find better ways of communication.  “We cannot demand that peoples of every continent, in expressing their Christian faith, imitate modes of expression which European nations developed at a particular moment of their history, because the faith cannot be constricted to the limits of understanding and expression of any one culture” (“Evangelii Gaudium,” No. 115).   We must keep the perspective of worship, which is union of mind and heart with the Lord, rendering perfect praise and a true sacrifice.

Not only is the liturgical development a source of tension within the Church but even more so when it comes to moral issues.  There are so many modern bioethical issues that have surfaced due to advancement in science, in reproduction such as surrogate motherhood, in-vitro fertilization, cloning. In addition, moral and social issues are very complex in a changing society where the role of women is being redefined, divorce, single parenthood, dysfunctional children and people with same sex attraction are on the increase.   How do we deal with these challenges that were never thought of in the time of Jesus?  Society has evolved and values have changed as well.

Again, we can react like the Jews by imposing our traditional values on the modern world.  We can insist that the laws of the Church and moral laws cannot change.  We can stick to our guns, but what will happen?  The divorcees will leave the Church as they feel ostracized by the community.  So too those with same sex attraction.  They feel that the laws of the Church make them out to be condemned sinners although they sincerely believe that their condition is through no fault of their own.  If there is any fault, it would be that of nature and they are simply being true to themselves, their identity and their emotional and affective needs.  Then what do we do with children that are born of surrogate mothers, those who are raised by same sex and transgender couples?  The truth is that we cannot just dismiss the struggles and tensions that they are going through, and many of them are sincere believers of the Lord and seeking to find integrity and peace.

We need to find a way in which we can accommodate the truth and the practical situations that confront us.  This is the reason why the Holy Father, Pope Francis wrote the encyclical, Amoris Laetitia, the Joy of Love.  Whilst maintaining the doctrines of the Church, since the objective truth cannot change, he advocates the application of these doctrines according to the spirit of the law and not just based on mere legalism.  This calls for sensitivity and discernment.  We cannot apply the laws without taking into consideration the person, the context and the situation he or she is in.  What we need to do is to embrace the person and help the person to find out God’s will for him or for her in the context of the Word of God.  Often, we do not arrive at the truth immediately, but over time, so long as we are open, the Lord will show us the way to the truth and to fullness of life.

Truly, the psalmist tells us that we are all invited to the House of God. Let us not prevent or drive away those who are seeking to find God’s will in their peculiar state of life.  Let us not be too harsh in passing judgement on them because we are not in their position.  Rather, we must welcome them and allow them to be pruned by the Lord as the gospel tells us.  “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.”

How can we be pruned by the Lord if not to let His Word enter into our hearts?  Jesus said, “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.”  So rather than isolating and condemning people who cannot accept certain doctrines of the Church, especially its moral teachings, we must welcome them all the more and help them to discover for themselves what the Lord wills for them.  Careful discernment in prayer and in the spirit is required through a deeper understanding of the Word of God.

In the final analysis, we should judge the matter by the fruits it brings.  Jesus taught, “A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” (Mt 7: 18)  That was what the early Church did. They testified to the fruits in welcoming the Gentiles into the Church without insisting that they observe the laws of Moses.  “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..”  In the gospel, Jesus reiterated, “It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.”  These fruits of course must not be passing fruits but are lasting.

In conclusion, let us welcome the challenges that the Church is currently grasping to find a middle way to accommodate the extreme positions taken by the traditionalists and the progressives.  We should not use authority or juridical power to stem out the differences.  Rather, we need to reinterpret the signs of the time so that all parties can be satisfied and feel respected and heard.  So we need to be patient and let the tension remain.   Creative tensions are part of the process of purification, discernment and growth.  God will eventually help us to think out of the box because we are all constrained by our past and narrow ways of looking at life and the scriptures.   What is needed is patient dialogue conducted in humility and mutual trust and respect.  It will take time and we cannot rush through such matters.   Time is needed to see things more objectively from afar.  Time is needed to help us sort out our prejudices to see from the other person’s point of view.   Let us allow Jesus to live in us.  “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.”  Our common love for the Lord will unite us in our differences and enable us to respect unity in diversity.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved