May 6, 2026
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 287
Reading
1
Some who had come
down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters
about this question.
They were sent on their journey by the Church,
and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria
telling of the conversion of the Gentiles,
and brought great joy to all the brethren.
When they arrived in Jerusalem,
they were welcomed by the Church,
as well as by the Apostles and the presbyters,
and they reported what God had done with them.
But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers
stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them
and direct them to observe the Mosaic law.”
The Apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (see 1) Let
us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050626.cfm
Commentary on Acts 15:1-6
We begin today an
account of the very first Church council. Scripture scholars find many
conflicting difficulties in the structure of the narrative in chapter 15 of
Acts. All these difficulties may be explained by supposing that Luke has
combined two distinct controversies in one text, along with their varying
solutions. Paul distinguishes them more clearly in chapter 2 of his letter to
the Galatians. For our purposes here, we need not go into these textual
problems.
As often is the
case, the matter did not concern a central doctrine of faith, but a tradition.
Two issues are going to come up:
- Should gentile converts be obliged to
observe the Jewish Law?
- What should be done to assuage the
mutual cultural sensitivities between gentile and Jewish members of the
Christian communities?
Then, as now, the
community could be said to be divided between conservatives who saw the need
for continuity with the past, and those who saw the need for change with
changing circumstances. The issue at stake was circumcision.
Many of the early
Christians, especially those in Jerusalem, were converts from Judaism, and
among these were Pharisees. They believed that Christianity was simply a
development of their Jewish faith and not a renunciation of it. And they
believed that they should continue observing their Jewish traditions.
Circumcision, like
many of the other practices of the Jews, was, at least for men, a crucial
identifying mark of God’s people, even though the original reason for the practice
may well have been hygienic and preventive. It was not by any circumstances a
custom confined only to the Jews of ancient times.
With the
acceptance of Gentiles into the Christian community, the issue of circumcision
became a delicate one. Should the new non-Jewish converts be forced to undergo
such a painful (and perhaps in their view a disfiguring) procedure? Was it
really central to the Christian identity?
It seems that the
Christians in Antioch were not enforcing it on their new gentile converts and
this was causing some concern among Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. They sent
delegates to Antioch with the strong message:
Unless you are
circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.
Although they were
given a hearing, they may not have represented all the Apostles and elders in
Jerusalem, but a more legalistic group within the church there.
It is clear from
Luke’s account that there was a deep conflict between the Jerusalem delegates
(who may have been predominantly Pharisees) and Paul and Barnabas, who had seen
how genuinely many Gentiles had accepted the Christian faith. They did not see
that compulsory circumcision should be part of the package. It was, of course,
a telling point that Paul himself, a Pharisee, was against compulsory
circumcision for Gentiles.
As a result, a
group from Antioch, including Paul and Barnabas and “some of the others,” went
down to Jerusalem. Among those “others” could have been Titus, who was of mixed
parentage, part Jewish, part Gentile. Paul mentions his presence in Galatians
2:1-3.
On the way, they
passed through the territories of Phoenicia and Samaria, telling the Christians
they met about their successes in evangelising the Gentiles in Asia Minor.
This, in some respects, was a clever public relations act because they picked
up a great deal of support from those they met along their way. They therefore
brought with them to Jerusalem a fairly considerable constituency of support.
When they reached
Jerusalem they gave the same message about their great success in bringing
Gentiles into the Christian communities, and it is clear that they were
cordially received by the Jerusalem Church.
But they were
challenged by the conservatives of the day (converted Pharisees), who again, as
in Antioch, insisted on the absolute necessity of circumcision for all
converts. Perhaps they had Titus in mind. Although his mother was a Jew and his
father a Gentile, he had not been circumcised, nor had Paul insisted on it. The
whole group then proceeded to discuss the matter in depth. Tomorrow we will see
the outcome.
There is much for
us to learn from this experience of the early Church. There is certainly a need
for continuity if the Church is to retain its identity and its links with its
origins. That is why the Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, is the
foundation on which our faith is built, and why we need to come back to it all
the time.
At the same time,
if the Church is to present its message in a way that is meaningful, it must
also be ready to make the necessary adjustments in areas which, though they may
have a long tradition, are not central and have outlived their meaningfulness. There
will always be a measure of tension between conservative and progressive
thinking. Both are necessary and a sign of a living Church. But this must be a
matter of diversity and not division.
What is vital is
that people on each side listen to each other and be open to frank and sincere
dialogue. In spite of serious differences, we see that dialogue taking place in
today’s reading.
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Commentary on John 15:1-8
Perhaps there are
some of us who have never seen a grapevine (although we may be well versed in
our wines!). But what Jesus says about the vine (a plant very common in
Palestine) can be said about any fruit-bearing tree that we are familiar with,
and the message is clear.
The vine is an
image we find elsewhere in the Old Testament. Jesus uses it as a symbol of the
Kingdom of God; all who belong to the Kingdom are part of the vine. The fruit
of the vine can be understood in the context of the Eucharistic celebration. It
also represents a life lived according to the vision of Jesus, a life filled
with unconditional love.
Jesus is
explaining to us what our relationship with him can be like, and indeed should
be like. He compares himself to a tree, basically to the trunk of the tree. The
cultivator of the tree, the one who gives it life, is the Father God. Jesus’
disciples are the branches. It is the branches which bear the fruit.
If a branch does
not bear fruit, it is simply cut off. It is no good; it is just draining life
from the trunk without giving anything in return. It is very easy for us to be
that kind of Christian. We come to church in search of ‘handouts’, but give
very little back to the community.
But even the
branches which do bear fruit are pruned and have parts cut off, so that they
will bear even more. Those who cultivate fruit trees or roses are familiar with
this process and know how important it is.
What does this
pruning consist of? Jesus explains:
You have already
been cleansed [or
pruned, the same Greek root for both words] by the word that I have
spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you.
We are pruned,
then, by our total identification with everything that Jesus stands for and by
constantly cutting out of our lives everything that is contrary to the spirit
of Jesus.
This involves a
certain kind of asceticism, a denying of some of our natural appetites. This
becomes easy as we are more and more overtaken by the vision of life that Jesus
offers to us. We give up those non-Christlike things gladly and willingly. It
becomes our deepest happiness and even pleasure to be always in Christ.
It is clear from
what Jesus says that only those branches which are connected to the trunk can
bear fruit:
Those who abide
in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
Without fruit we
are dead branches, but on the other hand, the fruit is not just of our own
making. It is the sign that Christ is working in us and through us.
The most
outstanding fruit of all is, of course, the love we reveal in our relationships
with God and with people:
By this
everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)
Separated from
Christ—always the result of our own choice—we are like a branch that has fallen
from the tree. We wither:
Whoever does
not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are
gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Such separation is
not physical. It is a separation of identity. It comes from rejecting or
refusing to accept the Way of Jesus as our way of life. It is a rejection of
life, and the choice of alternatives which can only lead to decay and death.
Finally, there is
the great promise:
If you remain
in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get
it.
This is not to be
interpreted as some kind of blank cheque, such as asking to win the first prize
in a lottery or to have one’s enemy wiped out, or to be cured of a terminal
sickness.
The promise is
prefaced by an important and essential condition: we need to be in Christ
and to have our lives totally guided by his words, that is, his teaching, his
vision of life. And if we are with him, our prayer inevitably will be to be
more deeply rooted in him—because he is the Source of all life and all Meaning
in life.
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Wednesday,
May 6, 2026
Easter Time
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, loving Father,
you have given us your Son Jesus
Christ as the true vine of life and our source of strength.
Help us to live his life as living
branches attached to the vine, and to bear plenty of fruit of justice, goodness
and love.
Let our union with him become visible in our
openness to one another and in our unity as brothers and sisters, that he may
be visibly present among us now and for ever.
Gospel Reading - John 15: 1-8
Jesus
said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the
vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every
branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. You are clean
already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Remain in me, as I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit
all by itself, unless it remains part of the vine, neither can you unless you
remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with
me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone
who does not remain in me is thrown away like a branch—and withers; these
branches are collected and thrown on the fire and are burnt. If you remain in
me and my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you will
get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit and be
my disciples.
Reflection
Chapters 15 to 17 of the Gospel
of John present to us the diverse teachings of Jesus which the Evangelist has
put together and placed in the friendly and fraternal context of the last
encounter of Jesus with his disciples:
•
Jn 15: 1-17: Reflections around the parable of
the vine.
•
Jn 15: 18 to 16, 4a: Advice of how to behave if
we are persecuted.
•
Jn 16: 4b-15: Promise of the coming of the Holy
Spirit.
•
Jn 16: 16-33: Reflections on the farewell and
the return of Jesus.
•
Jn 17: 1-26: The Testament of Jesus in the form
of a prayer.
The Gospels of today and of
tomorrow present part of the reflection of Jesus around the parable of the
vine. To understand well all the significance of this parable, it is important
to study well the words used by Jesus. And it is also important to observe
closely a vine or any other plant to see how it grows and how it becomes united
to the trunk and the branches, and how the fruit springs from the trunk and the
branches.
•
John 15: 1-2: Jesus presents the comparison of
the vine. In the Old Testament the image of the vine indicated the People of
Israel (Is 5: 1-2). The people were like a vine that God planted with great
tenderness on the hills of Palestine (Ps
80: 9-12). But the vine does not
correspond to that which God expected. Instead of producing good grapes it
produces sour fruit which is good for nothing (Is 5: 3-4). Jesus is the new
vine, the true vine. In one phrase alone he gives us the comparison. He says:
“I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that
bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to
make it bear even more.” Pruning is painful, but it is necessary. It purifies
the vine, and thus it grows and bears more fruit.
•
John 15: 3-6: Jesus explains and applies the
parable. The disciples are already purified. They have already been pruned by
the word that they heard from Jesus. Up until today, God does the pruning in us
through his Word which comes to us from the Bible and from many other means.
Jesus extends the parable and says: “I am the vine, you are the branches!” It
is not a question of two different things: on one side the vine and on the
other the branches. No! The vine does not exist without the branches. We are
part of Jesus. Jesus is the whole. In order that a branch can produce fruit, it
must be united to the vine. It is only in this way that it can receive the sap.
“Without me you can do nothing!” The branch that does not bear fruit will be
cut down. It dries up and it is ready to be burnt. It is good for nothing, not
even for wood!
•
John 15: 7-8: Remain in my love. Our model is
that which Jesus himself lives in his relationship with the Father. He says:
“As the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Remain in my love!” He insists
in saying that we must remain in him and that his words should remain in us.
And he even says: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask
for whatever you please and you will get it!” Because what the Father wants the
most is that we become disciples of Jesus and, thus, that we bear much fruit.
Personal Questions
•
Which has been the different pruning or the
difficult moments in my life which have helped me to grow? Which has been the
pruning or the difficult moments that we have had in our community, and which
have helped us to grow?
•
What keeps the life united and alive, capable of
bearing fruit, is the sap which goes through it. Which is the sap which goes
through our community, and which keeps it alive, capable of bearing fruit?
Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song to Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!
Sing to Yahweh, bless his name!
Proclaim his salvation day after day. (Ps 96: 1-2)
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