Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter

The late Jesuit priest Fr. Mark Link told a story of two friends who grew up together. They were inseparable; when you saw one, you saw the other. What no one realized, though, was that one had a strong character, while the other had a weaker character. As long as they were together, the one with the weaker character was all right.

After high school, the two friends went to different colleges. It was only a matter of time before the weaker friend fell into temptation and made a wreck of his life. His family despaired and lost hope for him.

When the stronger friend heard what happened, he went to his former buddy and helped him out of his situation, and brought him back to where he was before. It was then that the weaker friend realized that needed his friend; he needed to stay in contact with him to draw inspiration and strength from him.

That’s something of the way it is with Jesus and each one of us. And that’s precisely what Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel reading from John. United with him we can do anything. Separated from him we can do nothing.

And so, today’s Gospel reading is telling us two important things: First, it is telling us that Jesus is the new and true vine that God has planted in the vineyard. Second, it is telling us that only by uniting ourselves to Jesus will we bear fruit and grow into the persons God made us to be.

There is a movie called Shadow of the Hawk. In it a young couple and a Native American guide are making their way up a mountainside, fleeing from evil people. At one point the young woman slumps to the ground and says, “I cannot take another step.” The young man lifts her to her feet and says, “But… we must go on. We have no other choice!” She shakes her head and says, “I can’t go on.”

The guide says to the young man, “Hold her close to your heart. Let your strength and your courage flow out of your body and into hers.” The young man does this and, in a few minutes, the young woman says, “Now I can go on, now I can do it.” We do this for each other so often. We give one another encouragement and strength and energy to do amazing things in this life that we perhaps could not find the energy and courage to do on our own.

This is the same kind of role that Jesus wants to play in our lives. He wants to share with us not only his own strength and his own courage but also his very life. United with Jesus we can do great things. Separated from him we will struggle to do anything.+