I am the vine and you are the branches
This is such an easy concept to grasp about God. Christ is the Vine. Each of us are the leaves. If we are not connected to Christ through the grace of the Sacraments, then we dry up and blow away like the dust. This is the mystery of the Eucharist. When we receive Holy Communion, Christ transforms us into His Body.
Each of us has an integral part to play in the mission of the Church.
Each of us has an integral part in building up the Kingdom of God.
When one member isn’t here or expecting someone else to do the work, then the whole Body is weakened. Like the vine is affected when one branch breakers off or is injured, so too the Church. I believe with all my heart that everything we need to do the mission of Christ which is make disciples of all nations is already here in this Church. What God can and will do is to feed the branches and bring them to flower, if we are willing to let God do it. If one-person won’t get involved in the mission, then it makes the Body weak. If one person is not participating in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, that branch will grow weak and if it falls off, the vine is hurt and vulnerable.
When we come forward to Communion, the priest or minister say “The Body of Christ”. Yes, we are saying that the Bread is His Body; but, we are also saying the person ahead of us is and the person behind. We receive Communion to be His Body alive in the world. He is the Vine that attaches us to each other; like the branches off the Vine,
May we not allow ourselves to be separated from the Vine of Christ for any reason. With out him, we will dry up and wither away. In and with Christ, all is possible.
Jesus is the vine; you and I are the branches of his Body in our world
