THE
VINE GROWER
In
this fifth Sunday of Easter, Jesus introduces another image for God the Father;
He is the vine grower.
Vine
growing in the time of Jesus was somehow different from what we experience
today. Nowadays there is much machinery, specialists in agriculture, and tools
that help the vine growers to plant, prune, fertilize, and harvest the vines in
the safest way possible.
Back
in Jesus’ time this task was more rudimentary and needed more effort and
diligent care to ensure a good crop. Plantations were owned by families and
people personally took care of their plantation. Pruning as we understand it
today was completely unknown for the people of that time. The vine growers only
trimmed right after the flowering, and that was all. The real work started at the time of vintage.
But this was the most fun part for the vine grower. The weather was fair and warm, people went to
the fields, gathered together armed with little hooked knifes. They cut the
full bunches with extreme precaution so they did not harm
the whole vine, and they sang and laughed as they did so.
This
image of our Father as a vine grower in Jesus’ time fills me with much emotion.
The image that Jesus describes evokes a caring God, who delights with our
growth. And when the harvest time comes, he fills with joy and collects
all
the fruits we are capable of producing, thanks to his Son Jesus.
This
is just a reminder of how much delight God takes in us, how much love he has
for us, and how precious we are in his eyes.
I
hope this analogy of the vine grower helps us to understand how much God values
us. We must always remember that he is the one who makes us grow so that we can
produce fruit. The fruit that he is
always waiting for us to produce is love. Let us then remain in Jesus, who feeds us with
his body, the most powerful sign of love we have received.
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