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Institute for Homiletics

A Collaboration of The Catholic Foundation and the University of Dallas

Year B

The Vitality of the Vine

Jesus the vine gives flower to some very different branches. Last week we considered Peter, so this week let us turn to Paul. No one would have suspected that  Saul of Tarsus, that “breather of murderous threats against the disciples of the  Lord,” would ever become known as “the Apostle to the Gentiles” and one who  would refer to himself as both a loving father and mother to the communities he  himself tended. As Peter proved to be a good shepherd of the flock, so Paul was  a dedicated worker in the vineyard, tending with such loving care the branches  growing from the one vine that is Jesus. 

What we see in Paul and hear in his letters is the intimate love of Christ for his  church. Take up any of his letters and you will become engaged with the spirit of  Paul as an instrument that communicates the spirit of Christ. Paul’s letters reveal  the many voices he used to preach Christ crucified: the evangelizer and herald,  the teacher and witness, the admonishing father and loving midwife, all calling  God’s children to be fully alive in Christ. 

Jesus speaks of himself as a vine with many branches, befitting not only the  infinite variety of individuals he called in his own day, but also the many peoples  and nations that have come to believe in him. We pray for all who give themselves over to the work of the vineyard, to all who help others to remain in Christ  and bear fruit. 

Consider/Discuss

  • What does the image of Christ as the vine with many branches say to  you about today’s Church? 
  • How do you understand Jesus’ words about the branches needing to  be pruned so that they might bear more fruit? 

Responding to the Word

Risen Jesus, you are the vine and we are the branches. Strengthen our resolve  as a community to remain in you, so that we might bear more fruit. May your  words remain in me, your child; may I, like Paul, recognize the life these words  carry within them, and hold them in my heart.

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Scripture Study for

Saul, the formidable persecutor, has now become a disciple of the risen Lord.  Initially he meets resistance, not to his message but to his claim of conversion.  It takes another member of the community to witness to the saving grace of God  that transformed Saul into a believer. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, surely  God can recreate Saul. Saul’s rebirth as a disciple is a sign of the grace that has  been unleashed by the Resurrection. It was the risen Jesus that Saul encountered and it is that same risen Jesus that he now proclaims. The power of God is  unfathomable. 

The author of the Letter of John insists that it is not enough to proclaim love  for God; it must be demonstrated through concrete action. There seems to have  been a sense of guilt somewhere in the community. The writer assures them that  God’s love far exceeds any guilt that they may experience. They are called to  believe this, thus rooting their faith in confidence. This confidence is also manifested in the way they turn to God in prayer. Although only one commandment is  placed before them here, its focus is twofold. They are to believe in the name of  God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another. 

The metaphor of vine and branches characterizes the intimate nature of the  relationship between Jesus and his followers. Jesus lives in his branches, and his  branches live in his life. The vine is not totally dependent on any one branch or  group of branches. Therefore, it can endure pruning without withering and dying.  However, there is no vine if there are no branches at all. The basis of this union  is acceptance of and fidelity to the words of Jesus, not ethnic or national identity.  The vitality expressed by this image is unmistakable. The vine and the branches  are alive with the life of God.

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Wanted . . . Good Shepherds

Peter is a wonderful example of someone growing into the role of a good shepherd. His calling was evident from the beginning, when Jesus summoned him and  his brother Andrew while they were casting their nets into the sea: “Come after  me, and I will make you fishers of [people]” (Mark 1:17). 

We know Peter as the first to confess Jesus as Messiah, but also as someone  who did not understand what this would mean both for Jesus and his followers: the cross. We know Peter was not afraid to ask questions along the lines of  “What are we going to get out of being disciples?” or even say the wrong thing  (“You shall never wash my feet!”). And, perhaps most importantly, we know Peter  folded when the chips were down, denying he ever knew Jesus. 

This same Peter boldly preaches Jesus as raised by God for the salvation of all  who believe. He preaches not only outside the upper room on Pentecost, but in  the synagogue soon after, then twice before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish leaders in  Jerusalem), and finally in the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius.

What explains this transformation from denying follower to charismatic leader?  Paul tells us in one of his letters (1 Corinthians 15:5) that the risen Lord appeared  to Kephas (the Aramaic name for Peter). And Luke records the descent of the  Spirit upon those in the upper room (Acts 2:4). All of this reminds us that God’s  power at work in us is the key to having and being a good shepherd. 

Consider/Discuss

  • From the beginning, Jesus the Good Shepherd has called others to  shepherd in his name. Have you known any good shepherds in your  life? 
  • Do you pray for those called to shepherd God’s people? 

Responding to the Word

Loving Jesus, you have called many people to shepherd your faithful. We  pray for them today, most especially our Holy Father, and all of our bishops, the  bishop of this diocese, and all men and women in positions of leadership. Grant  them wisdom and give them the gifts needed to guide your people.

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Scripture Study for

Peter responds to the leaders of the Jewish community in Jerusalem who challenged the healing of a crippled man. He claims that it was in the power of Jesus’  name that the man was healed, and it will be in the power of this same name  that all will be saved. Peter speaks out against the leaders of the people, not  because they are Jewish but because they have rejected Jesus. For the crippled  man, salvation took the form of healing; for others, it can take the form of spiritual  transformation. The name of Jesus is the one and only source of salvation, hence  no one can afford to reject it. 

The love of which the author of the second reading speaks is generative, transforming; it makes believers children of God. Everything that happens in the lives  of believers is a consequence of their having been recreated as God’s children.  As children of God, they are a new reality and hence not accepted by the world,  the old reality. The “now but not yet” of Christian eschatology is clearly stated.  Believers have already been reborn as children of God. However, their transformation has not yet been completed. That is dependent on a future manifestation.  Promised an even fuller identification with God, believers will see God as God is. 

As shepherd, Jesus is committed to the well-being of the sheep. He is willing  to protect his flock even to the point of risking his own life for them. He has a  mutual, intimate relationship with them based on the mutual, intimate relationship that he has with God. This is true even of sheep that are not now his. The  high Christology can be seen in the control that he has not only over his death  but also over his resurrection. He has the power to take up his life again. He  received this power from God. The universally saving death of Jesus is the work  of the Father through the Son. 

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Recognizing the Lord

Recognizing Jesus as the risen Lord seems to have been something of a problem. Mary Magdalene didn’t; she thought he was the gardener. The disciples on  the road to Emmaus didn’t; they took him for a stranger who had heard nothing  about the recent events in Jerusalem. And even in today’s Gospel, the apostles  thought he was a ghost.

It is instructive to note how Jesus reveals himself in each case. To Mary  Magdalene, he simply says her name, “Mary.” The two disciples on the road get  an instruction on how all these recent events in Jerusalem fulfill the scriptures.  And today the apostles are shown his hands and feet, watch him eat, and again,  have their minds opened to the meaning of the scriptures. In all cases, Jesus’  words play an important role. 

How we come to know the risen Lord runs along the same lines. We come to  know him through the word of God. He calls us to be disciples, to be friends, to  be children of the Father through the scriptures. We come to the table of the Lord  each week, where our minds and hearts can be opened. 

We recognize him in the breaking of the bread, both the bread of the Eucharist  and the bread of God’s word. Some preparation on our part can be helpful. By  spending some time with the coming Sunday’s readings during the week, we are  more likely to have God’s word penetrate our hearts when we gather to listen  together to the scriptures and the preaching. 

Consider/Discuss

  • Have you had any experience of knowing the presence of Christ and  hearing his voice in the readings and preaching at Sunday Eucharist?
  • Do you appreciate the Sunday Eucharist as a time when the community continues to experience the presence of the risen Lord? 

Responding to the Word

Risen Lord Jesus, by our baptism we began to live with your life and received  the gifts of faith, hope, and love. We know you have come to draw us into the  life and love of the Trinity. Increase our ability to hear your voice and know you  through the scriptures.

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