Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
various churches is hard to say. The stress that arose quickly between
the Hellenist and the Hebrew (those who, though believing in Christ,
continued to observe Jewish Law) factions concerning the daily
distribution of bread suggested the natural struggles that are part of
every sociological collection of people (see Acts 6). Yet certainly the
Holy Spirit was hard at work as the numbers of Christians began to
grow.
In the Gospel, Jesus claims to be the vine, with the Father as the
vine grower. Like any tender of vines, the Father cuts off branches that
bear no fruit. Commentators note the Greek play on the words airein
(to cut off) and kathairein (to prune). Verse 3 uses the adjective
katharos (pruned) to keep the pun going through the first three verses.
Inasmuch as puns usually are, this one too is a bit of overkill. The
word Jesus spoke to them means his entire teaching up to and
including the present moment.
Remain in me as I in you is a general theme for this whole
passage, but more than that, it arises throughout Johns Gospel in
various ways. Two eventual disciples ask Jesus where he is staying (or
remaining) to which he invites them to come and see. The
Samaritans beg him to stay with them (Jn. 4:40) as they discover that
This is truly the savior of the world.
Remaining in Jesus has already been introduced in Jn. 14 and will
continue in this chapter and the following as the Christian reader
discovers that remaining in Christ is the way to eternal life. This is
also how we produce much fruit, by remaining in Christ, so that
Christ, the true vine, may produce the fruit through us, who remain in
him.
Fr. Lawrence Hummer hummerl@stmarychillicothe.com