When I was in Philosophy, I used to take care of our little garden. Cutting the grass and plants was my delight. In the middle of our garden there were some vine planted by a brother. The vine was grew well with so many leaves. But only leaves without fruits. I was thinking perhaps that kind of vine will not give any fruit. Until one day, a priest from Italy cutting some branches on it. There was a disappointment from my part seeing this vine became ugly with only few leaves remain. Poor vine. But at the same time, I believe and trust that my confrere wanted to make this vine giving fruits in due time. And that is the purpose why it was planted. To make the story short, after the pruning, this vine finally bore fruits though the birds always the first to enjoy it.

Jesus is the true vine. We are only branches. Jesus, vine, is rooted and stable and will bring us all the nourishment we need. We, branches, dependent and without remain in Jesus, the true vine, we will have no fruits at all and die. In order to bear fruits, we must remain in God and let His gentle hands prune some “branches” in us so that we become better persons. Remember, we are only and only branches. We are not the vine. Our job is not to be perfect, but to remain in Christ, the vine.

We are called not to be perfect but to be faithful. If we are faithful to remain in God, we will bear fruits though it is not easy.  It’s not easy to trust, surrender, and feel dependent. Instead, we pretend to be strong, independent and control everything as much as we can. But, how can we, branches, survive and bear fruits if we separate from the true vine?

When we abide in God we will produce fruits such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits are the result of a long and painful process just like a branch needs to be pruned. But our gardener, Jesus, is patient and gentle. Let us trust, surrender to Him so that in His caring hands we will produce fruits.

Indeed, we are called not to be successful but to be fruitful. “Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is a fruit conceived in vulnerability, the community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another’s wounds. Let’s remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness.”