Grafted onto the Vine, Who Is Jesus

“I am the vine, you are the branches [each of us is a branch].   Whoever remains in me and I in him [her] will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”  When and how did I become a branch on Jesus, the Vine? At my baptism I was grafted onto the Tree of Life, Jesus.   I remain on that vine when I do what Jesus did here on earth:  work to do God’s will, as Jesus did the will of His Father even to the point of death on the cross to save us from sin. I remain on that Vine when, in sufferings and disaster, I cling to Him, uniting my suffering to the sufferings of Christ on the cross, when I do not lose hope in hopeless situations because I take my burdens to the Lord, seek help from those who are capable of helping me and do what I am able to do  to move beyond my pain to healing and new life.   I remain grafted onto Jesus, the Vine, when I am open to the Spirit, when I seek the Spirit, when I seek God above all else. I remain grafted on the vine when I love as Jesus loved—unconditionally. I remain grafted on the vine when I feed the “hungry,” those hungry for love, for forgiveness, for understanding, for comfort, for support and, yes, the things they need to survive physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, socially and I do the same for myself.  I remain grafted on the vine when I release those imprisoned by injustice, by exclusion for that which is rightly theirs: shelter, clothing, education, food. I remain grafted onto Jesus when I seek forgiveness of God and of others and of self, when I acknowledge my sinfulness. I remain grafted onto Jesus when I act humbly, justly and love tenderly. The only way I can do this is through Jesus Christ—with Jesus, grafted onto Jesus I can do all these things, glorifying God here on earth, bearing much fruit and becoming His disciple day in and day out!