What beautiful images Jesus offers to us through the Gospels. Last week, He presented Himself as the Good Shepherd who knows His flock. This week, He describes Himself as the True Vine making us the branches. As the branches, we must not stay close to the vine; rather, we must stay connected to the vine. Does a branch stay alive just lying next to a tree or a vine? After a while it withers, dries, and decomposes. The branch that stay connected to the source thrives, grows, and survives. It is not enough to stay in the proximity of Jesus. No, we have to stay connected to Him. We connect ourselves to Him through the sacraments, prayer, the Bible ~ Sacred Scripture, and by loving God and one another. In this day and age, as we seek to be “connected” by email, phones, and social media — let’s not forget to get connected to Christ. He is the true and only source to which we should be connected.
