Abide in Me: the fifth Sunday of Paschal tide
Acts 9:26-31
Psalm 22
St. John 15:1-8
Today's psalm has two themes which tie together the lesson from Acts and the Gospel. The first is "be not far from me," which appears in verses 1, 11, and 19. It includes what I consider the most moving verse in the entire Psalter, "Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help."
This is coupled with a different refrain in the second half of the psalm, verses 17, 22, and 30, "I will tell." In verse 17 it is "I can tell (count) all my ribs," but in 22 it is transformed, "I will tell your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise You." And it ends with "It will be told concerning the Lord for a generation."
In our Gospel, Christ tells the Apostles that unless they abide in him, and he in them, they cannot bear fruit (St. Jn 15:5). Just as the Psalmist declares himself close to death if our Lord is far from him, so are we near to death if Christ is not in us. Shoots which do not dwell in Christ die and are removed and cast into the fire (v. 6). Without the presence of God there is no vitality, and we are close to the "dust of death." (Ps. 22:15)
But when Christ is near "their hearts will live forever" (Ps. 22:26), and the counting of ribs becomes the counting of the deeds of the Lord. If we ask with St. Paul "Oh, retched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?" The answer is given us "Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 7:24-5) Christ appears to St. Paul "as a man born out of time," and he becomes more fruitful than all the Apostles (I Cor. 15:8-10).
You may have already noted the irony here, that Psalm 22 is usually read as the words of Christ from the Cross, and it begins with "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Remember Christ's other lesson on "abiding in me," in St. John 6:56, "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him." What we discover is that through the Passion of Christ the dead are raised. We live in Christ by first dying with him, "If we have died with Christ we believe we will also live with him." (Rom. 6:8)
All die, but not all are raised. This is a great and fearful mystery. This is why the death of Psalm 22 has this double significance. We may die apart from Christ and be cast into the fire. Or we may be crucified with Christ and then be raised with him.
At Baptism we participate in the death and resurrection of Christ, and at the Eucharist we partake of
His life and so abide in Him. But what our Gospel and St. Paul show us is that partaking the Eucharist is not where it ends. Christ's life in us is meant to produce fruit: holiness of life, acts of mercy, and the conversion of souls. Christ dwells in us. We are crucified with Christ, so that it is not we who live but Christ lives in us (Gal. 2:20). And as St. Paul further says, "If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things which are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." (Col. 3:1)
Let us celebrate the feast of faith, let us partake of the life of our Incarnate God, and then follow the example of St. Paul, who encountered the Risen Lord and then spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Act. 9:27, 29)
Psalm 22
St. John 15:1-8
Today's psalm has two themes which tie together the lesson from Acts and the Gospel. The first is "be not far from me," which appears in verses 1, 11, and 19. It includes what I consider the most moving verse in the entire Psalter, "Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help."
This is coupled with a different refrain in the second half of the psalm, verses 17, 22, and 30, "I will tell." In verse 17 it is "I can tell (count) all my ribs," but in 22 it is transformed, "I will tell your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise You." And it ends with "It will be told concerning the Lord for a generation."
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| Christ the True Vine 16th Century |
But when Christ is near "their hearts will live forever" (Ps. 22:26), and the counting of ribs becomes the counting of the deeds of the Lord. If we ask with St. Paul "Oh, retched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?" The answer is given us "Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 7:24-5) Christ appears to St. Paul "as a man born out of time," and he becomes more fruitful than all the Apostles (I Cor. 15:8-10).
You may have already noted the irony here, that Psalm 22 is usually read as the words of Christ from the Cross, and it begins with "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Remember Christ's other lesson on "abiding in me," in St. John 6:56, "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him." What we discover is that through the Passion of Christ the dead are raised. We live in Christ by first dying with him, "If we have died with Christ we believe we will also live with him." (Rom. 6:8)
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| The Conversion of Saul Michelangelo |
At Baptism we participate in the death and resurrection of Christ, and at the Eucharist we partake of
His life and so abide in Him. But what our Gospel and St. Paul show us is that partaking the Eucharist is not where it ends. Christ's life in us is meant to produce fruit: holiness of life, acts of mercy, and the conversion of souls. Christ dwells in us. We are crucified with Christ, so that it is not we who live but Christ lives in us (Gal. 2:20). And as St. Paul further says, "If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things which are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." (Col. 3:1)
Let us celebrate the feast of faith, let us partake of the life of our Incarnate God, and then follow the example of St. Paul, who encountered the Risen Lord and then spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Act. 9:27, 29)
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