May 6, 2012 – Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:26-31; Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32; 1 Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us “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… Apart from me, you can do nothing.”
As Christian disciples, we are called to serve the Lord with our whole lives. We are called to give of ourselves out of love — particularly love of God. That is what the Christian life is all about. We are to follow Christ’s example of selflessly giving in love of others (look to the crucifix). But surely we cannot do this alone. It is an extraordinary calling, and we must be firmly rooted in Christ, intimately united to Him, in order for us to truly live out the selfless service of Christian discipleship. This means that while we focus of giving our talent and treasure in service of one another, we have to make it a priority to give of our time — to spend time with the Lord in prayer, to celebrate the sacraments regularly, to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ, the One we follow, the One who is the reason we live discipleship through stewardship in the first place. We need intimate relationships with Him. He gives us the grace and the strength we need to live the life of a Christian disciple. We must stay focused on Him — all the time!
