The gardener‘s assistant was about to uproot a climbing plant which had overgrown. ―I might as well get rid of this,‖ he said, ―it is just like a load of old string climbing along the fence.‖ ―No‖ said the gardener, ―that is a beautiful clematis, and if it is carefully pruned and nurtured it will produce the most beautiful flowers next spring and summer‖. As every gardener knows, many plants appear dead in the winter, but with careful pruning they can produce wonderful flowers or fruit.

Jesus told us he was the vine and we are the branches. He is the living trunk and we are the living growing branches coming from the trunk; that is what Jesus is say-ing. He wants us as his followers to be a living, vibrant, fruitful presence in the world. We as his branches cannot bear fruit by ourselves, we have to rely on the source - Jesus.

How do we do that? By listening to and reading the word of God and putting it into practice in our lives. We also have to rely on each other. Branches are all interconnected, part of each other, all feeding from the same stem out of the same soil, but all growing in different and unique directions. We share a common life, and within that we become our own unique, distinctive selves.

But if the words of Jesus do not remain in the lives of his followers, like dead branches they are useless, fit only to be cut off and thrown away. Jesus invites his followers to make their home with him, to trust him, to rely on him, and to draw nourishment on him.

If a branch is detached from the tree it will die; it can-not live on its own, and we cannot either. Often we rush about following our own chosen path in life, trying to do good for those around us. We may forget about depending on Jesus and on one another. If our love is real and active, if we rely on him and make our home with him, then the words of Jesus will truly bear fruit in our lives and in our world.