MEDITATION OF THE DAY(SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 15:1-6; JN 15:1-8 )
THEME:BEING PRUNED IN FAITH THROUGH THE WORD AND THE BODY OF CHRIST.

In our spiritual life, it is important that we realize that faith in Christ is only the beginning of salvation. This is because salvation entails that we become more and more Christ in our life. The truth is that although all of us are baptized in Christ, we have yet to become Christ in our lives.  Most of us still have much residues of sin in us.  We know very well that human beings are not robots.  We do not change overnight.  The grace of God does not destroy human nature.  More often than not, God’s grace will work slowly and gradually, transforming us into more and more like Christ.  Thus, as Jesus tells us in the gospel, we need to be pruned.  Even though some of us might be bearing fruit, we need to be pruned further so that we can bear even more.

This was certainly the case of the early Christians as well.  Today, we read in the first reading how some members of the Pharisees who were converted to Christianity insisted that the Gentles who would became believers must be circumcised and be instructed to keep the Law of Moses or else they could not be saved.  Yes, the Jewish Christians still could not let go of their old yeast, their Jewish traditions, even when they became Christians.  Not only did they still want to cling to their old and past traditions but they wanted to impose them on others.  Of course, they did it in good will, believing that observing the Mosaic Laws were necessary for salvation.  But we will find out later that they were mistaken, because the basis of Christian salvation is not founded on observance of the Traditions of Moses but on the grace of Jesus Christ. They, like us, also need to grow in faith, in understanding and in authentic love.

How then can we be pruned so that our faith will become purer, more authentic and liberating? Pruning requires that we keep in constant union with Jesus since Jesus is the vine and we are His branches.  It is only by remaining in Him that we can bear fruit in plenty. Indeed, as Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, we become truly His disciples only when we are in union with Him.  And that is not all, He also promised us that when we become identified with Him, we will bear fruit and all that we ask we shall get, since we will only pray and ask in the mind of Christ which is the mind of God.  In other words, if our prayers and our lives bear fruit, it is because being grafted onto Christ, He will work in and through us.

But how can we maintain our union with Jesus so that we can be pruned to become more and more like Him? The first way of pruning of course is to deepen our personal prayer life.  This deepening of our prayer life entails first and foremost an assimilation of His word.  He told His disciples, “You are pruned already by means of the word that I have spoken to you.”  Yes, it is by being in contact with the Word, praying, reflecting and meditating on the Word of God, which is Jesus Himself, that we become enlightened in the truth.
PRAYER:"Lord Jesus, may I be one with you in all that I say and do. Draw me close that I may glorify you and bear fruit for your kingdom. Inflame my heart with your love and remove from it anything that would make me ineffective or unfruitful in loving and serving you as my all."