The Gospel for today’s feast is taken from the Gospel of St. John. We hear the final “I AM” statement of Jesus, identifying himself in the same words used in the Book of Exodus by the voice from the burning bush.
There are no parables in the fourth Gospel. The closest thing to a parable are the two “I AM” passages included in the final discourse of Jesus. In the first he identifies himself as the sheep gate and the Good Shepherd. Jesus uses this metaphor to describe the relationship between Jesus and his disciples. The passage we read today is an allegory in which the vine is Jesus, the vine grower is the Father and the branches are the disciples.
Jesus’ final “I AM” saying carried a climatic force to John’s first readers. Whereas they had previously counted on them being Israelites to assure their living relationship to God, Jesus’ claim to be the true vine means that he is the vital link with God, fulfilling what Sirach affirms about the Messiah. Israel had frequently been described as a vine in the Hebrew Scriptures, a vine that had been transplanted from Egypt to the land flowing with milk and honey.
The heart of the allegory lies in the statement, “Abide in me as I abide in you.” It is this statement that rings true to us today as we celebrate the life of St. Clare of Assisi who is likened to the little plant of St. Francis. She escaped her home in the middle of the night and spent the rest of her life as an enclosed woman who spent her life in service to her sisters and by abiding with Jesus, particularly in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
St. Paul uses a touch of metaphor when he writes that we hold this treasure in earthen vessels. This reference reminds us that our physical bodies, made from the dust of the earth, is privileged to hold the greatest treasure imaginable when we receive the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. St. Paul is at his rhetorical best as he speaks of our human struggle. We are reminded once again that Clare’s life was one of suffering grave illness that often kept her in bed, unable to even join the sisters in the chapel for their daily prayer. The legend tells us that on a particular Christmas Eve when illness kept her from the Mass of the Nativity, she was suddenly able to see through the walls and to witness the elevation of her Eucharistic Lord in the hands of the priest.
We, the branches on the vine of Christ, abide with him through the Eucharist, through his presence in our brothers and sisters, and through the Word of God which we proclaim every day. Today, the little plant encourages us to remain part of the vine which is Christ.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator