REMAIN IN ME, AS I REMAIN IN YOU

Gal 2,19-20; Ps 33; Jn 15,1-8
23 JULY
Remaining is a verb very dear to the Apostle John. The truth hidden in it is simple to highlight. The disciple of Jesus must make his home the heart of Christ, without ever leaving it. He will do this if the Word of Christ becomes his habitual home. He lives in the heart of Christ the Lord, who resides in his Word.

Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples (Jn 8, 31). And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always (Jn 14, 16). Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me (Jn 15, 4). I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing (Jn 15, 5). Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned (Jn 15, 6). If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you (Jn 15, 7). As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love (Jn 15, 9).

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love (Jn 15, 10). Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father (1Jn 2, 24). As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him (1Jn 2, 27). And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming (1Jn 2, 28). No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him (1Jn 3, 6). We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death (1Jn 3, 14). No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us (1Jn 4, 12). This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit (1Jn 4, 13). Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son (2Jn 1, 9).

If the disciple of Jesus wants to bear fruit, he must remain in Christ Jesus more than the plant in the earth. He must remain in the same way that a branch remains attached to the vine. The branch does not possess life in itself. Not possessing it, it might never produce fruit. It possesses life by continually drawing it from the vine. Christ Jesus is the “branch” of the Father. He remains in the heart of the Father, draws all life from the Father through the work of the Holy Spirit and produces much fruit. The disciple is a “branch” of Christ; he draws all life from Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit and produces much fruit. If he separates from the true vine, the vital food fails. Not only does he produce no fruit; he dries up and he is good only to be thrown into the fire. The branch that remains in Him lives and produces.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Today the world of disciples is seen as a dry branch. Instead of returning to itself, like the younger Son who was grazing the pigs, and deciding to be grafted again into Christ Jesus, wonder of wonders, he established that it is impossible to produce fruit and that for this reason the evangelizing mission must be abandoned. It is the kingdom of darkness!

Wise Virgin, Angels and Saints, help us to live of true faith in Christ Jesus.