We continue exploring the Gospel of John in our readings for this Sunday. In them Jesus makes his seventh and final "I am" statement, comparing himself to the true vine. Combing through the Old Testament we discover that vine imagery is often associated with Israel, but an Israel that is unfaithful and disobedient. It is Christ then, the faithful son, and we his disciples who are to embody a new Israel, radically faithful to the Father. How do we achieve this faithfulness? Our Gospel reveals the secret.

Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:

- The seven "I am" statements in John, the last of which forms our Gospel

- The image of the vine in the Old Testament and how it helps us interpret Our Lord's analogy

- How our Gospel both demands and promises radical faithfulness

- The ancient heresy that our Gospel was employed to refute

- What it means to abide in Christ and a tangible way to practice that abiding

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, Raymond E. The Gospel according to John (XIII-XXI): Introduction, Translation, and Notes. Vol. 29A. Anchor Yale Bible. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.

Martin, Francis, and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Edited by Peter S. Williamson and Mary Healy. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.

REFERENCES

Psalm 80:8-18 - "You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches;

11 it sent out its branches to the sea,

and its shoots to the River.

12 Why then have you broken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? [...]

Ezekiel 19:10-14 - "Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard

transplanted by the water,

fruitful and full of branches

by reason of abundant water.

11 Its strongest stem became

a ruler’s scepter;

it towered aloft

among the thick boughs;

it was seen in its height

with the mass of its branches.

12 But the vine was plucked up in fury,

cast down to the ground [...]"

Isaiah 5:1-7 - "Let me sing for my beloved

a love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

2 He digged it and cleared it of stones,

and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

and he looked for it to yield grapes,

but it yielded wild grapes [...]"

Mark 12:1-9 - (Parable of the Vineyard)

Matthew 21:43 - "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."

John 13:10 - "Jesus said to him, 'He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you.'"

"All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” Cf. Exodus 19:8; Exodus 24:3, 7;)

Luke 1:38 - “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Mark 14:36 - "Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

Matthew 6:10 - "Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven."

John 5:19 - "“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise."

John 8:28 - "So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me."

John 1:3 - "All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made."

“Short of a miracle, a man who does not practice mental prayer will end up in mortal sin.” - St. Alphonsus

“A man without mental prayer is not good for anything; he cannot even renounce the slightest thing.” - St. Vincent de Paul

“If you do not practice mental prayer, you don’t need any devil to throw you into hell, you throw yourself in there of your own accord. On the contrary, give me the greatest of all sinners; if he practices mental prayer, be it only for fifteen minutes every day, he will be converted. If he perseveres in it, his eternal salvation is assured.” 
- St. Teresa of Avila