Wednesday of the
Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8)
A theologian of some repute once challenged Mother Teresa’s
famous dictum that the Lord does not ask us to be successful but only to be
faithful. The theologian reasoned that
it is a waste of talent and time to go about oblivious to the effects of our
actions. Rather, he would say, it is
only prudent to make our efforts as productive as possible.
As often happens, both sides in this debate have a hand on
the truth. Certainly Jesus calls us to
accountability for what we do. Wasting
resources and producing results which harm as much as they help are not the
fruits that he looks for. But some fruit
trees, like the tropical mangosteen, take over a dozen years to grow from
seed. Faithfulness on the part of the
planter is required if its fruit is to be harvested and enjoyed. Just so,
sometimes our best efforts may require years to produce the desired results.
In today’s gospel Jesus prescribes faithfulness as the one
indispensable quality to produce any worthwhile fruit. He calls himself the vine to which we must
stay connected. Apart from him our
well-intended actions either devolve into egotism or are finally abandoned. Both results are like incipient fruit that
shrivels when plucked prematurely from the vine. Staying connected to Jesus, we produce a
harvest which benefits people while giving glory to God.
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