St. Peter hears the doorbell and looking out the window sees a man standing there at the pearly gates waiting to come in. St. Peter goes to open the gates but as soon as he arrives the man who was waiting disappears. St. Peter is surprised but returns to what he was doing, when again the doorbell rings, and so he goes once more to open the gates. As soon as St. Peter arrives, the man disappears again. Frustrated St. Peter returns to his activities when a third time the bell rings. Going out St. Peter shouts, “what is going on here.” “Sorry,” the man says, “they are trying to resuscitate me.”
Stories and jokes such as these tend to reinforce the notion that the gates of heaven are found at the end of our lives where the scales of justice will weigh our actions to determine our acceptability and whether we can pass through the gates and into heaven. It is very true that there will be a particular judgement immediately upon our death, and at that time the assignment to heaven, purgatory or hell. And at the end of all time there will also be the final judgement when the justice, mercy and glory of God will be seen by all. Yet the gates of heaven are not to be found at the time of our death. Rather we pass through those gates when we are baptized. We are in many ways already traveling the pathway beyond the gates of heaven and towards the embrace of God. It is at our baptism that we are made acceptable to God. We need to really meditate on this truth; we are already acceptable to God because of our baptism, and not by our accomplishments or good acts. If we hear a voice within telling us, we are unacceptable that is simply a lie. A lie we can sometimes tell ourselves because of a faulty or weak understanding, or a lie told to us when under spiritual attack - the purpose of which is to have us lose hope and ultimately our faith.
John Lennox, a scientist and Christian apologist makes this point very well when he says that in marrying his wife Sally, he did not wait 30 years into the marriage to accept her, nor she him. The acceptance came first. Acceptance does come first and then the growth and flourishing of a loving relationship over time. We need not fear our own thoughts of unacceptability. We are already the beloved children of God. And as in marriage, our relationship with God grows, develops, and bears fruit over time if we remain committed to that relationship.
God is the vine grower, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. At our baptism we were grafted onto the vine, made acceptable, given light and a new life. We were sanctified and set apart for holy purposes. Our capacity for faith, hope and charity was supercharged. And Jesus Christ, the true vine, became our source of nourishment, of life, and fruitfulness. It is true we cannot do anything without him, since all we would do, however good it appears, will be lacking. But living in the Holy Spirit we can walk in obedience to God’s will and so love as Christ loves – sacrificially. This is an important teaching for us to grasp and ponder. Whether we wish to be good parents and bring up children well, whether we wish to find the right words of comfort or peace at work or school, or whether we wish to lead in ministry, it is only by remaining in Christ that life will flow from God and through us and into our thoughts, words and works.
Jesus tells us that we are already pruned because He, the living Word, has found a home in our hearts. We are already pruned since choosing to sacramentalize our lives we conform ourselves to our Lord.
But lest we become complacent, too comfortable, we are warned that the branches that bare no fruit will be cut off and burned. This means that even though we are joined to the vine if we then fail to remain in him, fail to keep his commandments, and, as his disciples, fail to produce fruit, then we will be separated. Like any good vine grower, God the Father will take off the branch that is lifeless and unproductive. These are sobering words and should give us cause for pause.
In the second reading Saint Paul tells us how we are to know that we are in him and living in the truth. Simply, because our hearts do not condemn us. And if they do then this is because God lives in us. The Spirit is "greater than our heart" and "knows everything." When we sin, the Spirit convicts us of the wrong and helps us to desire a change.
We are already walking in the hinterlands of heaven; not quite home, yet within sight of it. By means of our baptism we are already accepted by the Father and are grafted onto the vine who is his son. Fear not God’s pruning for this is for our good. Our life mission, which we must accept if we are not to be cut off and thrown away, is to love one another as he commanded us to do. We keep his commandments and so remain in him as he remains in us. By this our ability to do good and bear much fruit is made possible.
Jesus, help us to share fully in the life you give us. Keep us free from sin and from distracting entanglements. May the fruits of our actions prove us to be your faithful disciples. Amen.
Deacon Peter Bujwid, Saint Agnes Church
Arlington, MA.
Sunday 28th April 2024
