By Marianne Furtado de Nazareth –
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:1-8)
Whenever this gospel is read, my mind would wander to the Sula vineyards, on the outskirts of Bangalore, that I was asked to cover, while working with the Deccan Herald. The vines were grown horizontally on supports, like they are in Europe, rather than the old Bangalore, canopy style. The area was dry and stony, but we were told the conditions were ideal for grape growing. The owners had visited areas in France and checked everything from climate suitability to soil mineral content to grow the perfect ‘French’ grape. The vines looked lush, they were watered by drip irrigation and hundreds of luscious bunches of grapes, were nestled between the sandpaper, grape-vine leaves.
While walking through the vineyard, I picked a grape, rubbed it well on my blouse so all the pesticide sprayed on it, I hoped, got rubbed off and bit into it. The grape was amazingly sweet. I asked the guide taking us journalists around, how these vines bore such sweet grapes. She explained to us that the vineyard workers pruned the vines, binding drooping tendrils and trimming off branches to re-focus their growth. Along with sun, water, and good soil, pruning is essential to getting sweet grapes.
Pruning for a good vine grower, is not a hostile act to the vine. Rather, it is an act of hope. The man expects that the vine will produce delicious grapes, and in order to do so the vine must be pruned, so it can re-direct its energy, towards the fruit and not grow wildly.
Draw a parallel with our lives — we need to do some personal “pruning” ourselves: Every activity we engage in involves time and energy. Are we spending our time and energy on things that are helping us to become better people? Or, do we need to say “no” to some things that are not really bringing forth our better selves. Are we being drained of energy that we know could be better used somewhere else in our lives? When you’re 80, will you be able to look back and say, “Yeah, that was time well-spent. I’m so happy that I spent so much of my 40s doing that!”
Sure, there are life commitments that we must undertake. Some are difficult and draining, but we must live them nonetheless.But honestly, sometimes, maybe too often, I find myself saying “yes” to unnecessary things and situations that, I unwittingly convince myself that “ I need to do it.”
This is where I need to “prune” both my thinking and my schedule. So, I pray for the courage to say “no.” But also, I pray for the wisdom to know where I need to refocus my energy and invest my time.
We also need to trust that the Divine Vine-Grower will empower us to do that, if we are open to it. Those pruning shears may be our key to more abundant growth. Are we fruit bearing or non-fruit bearing branches?
Researching the concept, this metaphor of the vineyard is also found in the fifth chapter of Isaiah. Here, God has planted a vineyard. The vineyard produces an abundance of grapes, however, the grapes are sour. They are no good for anything. In Isaiah’s time, Israel had turned away from God. They were making alliances with other nations. They were allowing worship of other gods in the kingdom. In other words, they had lost their connection to the true vine. Therefore, God, the vine grower, allows the vineyard to be destroyed.
As a Jesuit priest at Sunday mass explained, Jesus’ metaphor is slightly different. The branches are people. They are people who have heard the words of Jesus, been with Jesus or they have seen the miracles of Jesus. The branches that are not bearing fruit are those who have had one or all of these experiences with Christ and yet, they do not believe. Because they do not believe in Christ, they cannot bear any fruit.
Dr Marianne Furtado de Nazareth,
Former Asst. Editor, The Deccan Herald, &
Adjunct faculty St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, Bangalore.