Light from disconnected bulbs
Today’s readings: Acts 9:26-31; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8
One of the mainstays of television programming in my childhood was the sitcom The Addams Family. Of the iconic characters making up this oddball family, my favourite was Uncle Fester: a bald man invariably wearing a dark coat, with an equally dark sense of humour and a penchant for explosives. One of his quirky traits was an ability to put a light bulb in his mouth and somehow turn it on. In those pre-wireless-charging days, this trick seemed like magic, for in our experience, electrical appliances do not normally function unless they have some source from which to draw power.
If Jesus was speaking nowadays, he might perhaps have chosen such an image to illustrate the message he shares in today’s gospel. Since he was speaking to first-century Jews, however, he spoke of vines, branches, and bearing fruit: “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.”
Vineyards and vines had long been used in Jewish prophecy to refer to God’s people. But as Pope St John Paul II states in Christifidelis Laici (1988): “John the Evangelist invites us to go further and leads us to discover the mystery of the vine: it is the figure and symbol not only of the People of God, but of Jesus himself. He is the vine and we, his disciples, are the branches. He is the ‘true vine’, to which the branches are engrafted to have life.”
The words of Jesus about needing to remain in him in order to have life and to bear fruit constitute both an exhortation and a warning, especially since it is so easy to confuse Christian discipleship with the trappings of a culture steeped in Christian history and traditions. This is a particular danger for nominally Christian countries, like our own.
For far too long, we naively equated being Maltese with being Catholic; some of us still do, despite the repeated wake-up calls of recent decades. We persist in expecting fruit from dead and discarded branches; we look for “disciple” behaviour and attitudes in people who have long ceased to be disciples (perhaps unknowingly). In the words of Cole, the troubled boy from M. Night Shyamalan’s movie masterpiece The Sixth Sense: “I see dead people. …They don’t know they’re dead!”
The essential word in this context is the word “remain”, which occurs around 10 times in today’s gospel and second reading. To ‘remain’ in Christ means to maintain a close, intimate relationship with Jesus, abiding in his teachings, following his example, and relying on his strength and guidance in all aspects of life. It involves a continual connection with the Lord, rooted in faith, love and obedience to his commandments.
If we stop seeking that relationship, we risk becoming merely cultural Christians: enjoying the sounds, flavours and rituals of our faith, yet with no real connection to its heart, Christ himself. Even Richard Dawkins – perhaps the most famous atheist in the world – described himself in a recent interview as a “cultural Christian” (as opposed to a “believing Christian”). While reiterating his own unbelief and expressing satisfaction at the declining numbers of believers, he admitted to a certain fond appreciation for such things as hymns, Christmas carols, the western world’s Christian ethos, and the architecture of its cathedrals and churches.
But a Christianity without Christ will not save us; it is only a withered branch, severed from the vine. We can no more expect it to bear fruit than we can expect a disconnected light bulb to turn on and give light (absent Uncle Fester!).
BGATT@MALTACHURCHTRIBUNALS.ORG