Daily reflection _ growth, progress, and confidence

GROWTH, PROGRESS, AND CONFIDENCE
During this Easter season, we have been re-affirming over and over again our confidence in the fact that the Resurrection did happen and that Jesus is truly present and at work in our midst.
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
There is something very optimistic about the flavor given to the liturgy this Sunday through the three readings read at Mass. Their message brings reassurance to one who is aware of only the destructive forces in the world and focuses only on that; these are the words that one needs to hear. Certainly it is easy enough to become aware of those destructive forces. All you need to do is turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper and you are faced with invitation after invitation to conclude that the world is largely occupied by criminals and madmen. And in the face of these, something as fragile as the Christian message doesn't really seem to have much of a chance.
However, these three readings speak of growth, of progress, and of confidence in the fact that progress will happen. The first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, gives us a picture of Paul returning to Jerusalem after his conversion. When he left Jerusalem, he had done so as the leader of persecution. He was himself perhaps one of the greatest obstacles of his time to the growth of Christianity. And the reading ends with the note that despite continued persecutions, the Church continued to make steady progress and enjoyed what Luke calls "the consolation of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:31).
The Gospel reading from St. John speaks of the fruitful growth of the branches as long as they remain connected to the vine. Unfortunately, not all of the branches will be fruitful. Some will wither and fall off, others will have to be cut off, but the vine will continue to flourish. The dead branches may make the thing look bad for a while, but they won't stop its growth. And again John, in the second reading, assures us that "...if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from Him whatever we ask" (1 Jn. 3:21).
And so the message is clear. Christ wants us to know, to be assured, that there is a Force at work in the world far stronger than any obstacle we could set in its path. A Force that can and will propel the people of God along the path He has chosen for them. The world can indeed become what God calls it to be. And there is no doubt as to what that Force is. It is the presence of Jesus Himself. When we set out to establish the society described in the Scriptural images of the New Kingdom, we do not do so alone. What we do, we do in the company of the supporting and renewing presence of our Lord.
The Gospel says that we will bear fruit only if we are attached to the vine; only if we make it a point to be open to and accept the presence of Christ. In the second reading it is much more concrete. We are attached to the vine; we are attuned to the presence of Jesus through our belief in Him and our love for one another. Both are necessary. Neither of them alone will bear fruit. Love gives substance, flesh, and blood to belief, and belief gives purpose and direction to love.
Belief and love; over and over again in the Scriptures these two virtues are presented as two sides of the same coin. So much, in fact, are these two a part of one another that in Christian tradition the two are sort of bound together in one word - Faith! For a Christian, faith means that one is attached to the Vine. It is not a virtue that determines only a relationship with God and a way of acting towards Him. Beyond that, faith is a virtue that determines one's relationship with and behavior toward other people and towards oneself as well.
Faith gives us a new insight, a new understanding of the people around us, an insight that very often contradicts what we see around us simply with the limited sight of our senses. In faith we see that every human being is created in God's Image and likeness and that every person ever created is deserving of our acceptance, our love, and our service.
Our faith also determines our attitude toward ourselves. If we are truly aware of our connection to the Vine, aware of Christ's own life within us, then self-respect, a healthy self-love, is a natural and easy thing. If we can honestly see and accept ourselves as instruments of Christ's love in the world, we can be a part of raising the standards of our world.
During this Easter season, we have been re-affirming over and over again our confidence in the fact that the Resurrection did happen and that Jesus is truly present and at work in our midst.
The question we must ask ourselves is, "Am I bearing fruit?"