Readings

Acts 15.1–6 – Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.’ The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.

John 15.1–8 – ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Reflection

In our Gospel reading, Jesus offers us one of his most vivid images: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower… Abide in me as I abide in you.” It is an image of life, connection, and dependence. Branches do not strive to produce fruit by effort alone; they bear fruit because they remain connected to the vine.

It is a gentle but profound reorientation. The Christian life is not first about activity, achievement, or even correctness; it is about relationship. To abide is to remain, to dwell, to stay close. Fruitfulness flows from that closeness.

And then we turn to Acts, where that simplicity seems to be under pressure.

In Acts 15, we find the early Church in disagreement. Some are insisting that new Gentile believers must be circumcised and follow the law of Moses. In other words, they are asking: what must someone do in order to truly belong? What are the necessary markers of faithfulness?

It is not a trivial question. It goes to the heart of identity, tradition, and faithfulness to God. And yet, when we hold this alongside the words of Jesus in John 15, we begin to see the tension more clearly.

Because Jesus does not say, “Produce fruit so that you may be part of the vine.” He says, “Abide in me… and you will bear much fruit.” The ordering of that phrase matters.

In Acts, the Church is discerning how to remain faithful to God while welcoming others into that life. And the danger, one that has never quite left the Church, is that we can slip into thinking that belonging is secured by external markers, by rules fulfilled, by the right credentials in place.

But the image of the vine challenges that instinct. It reminds us that life with God begins not with our effort, but with God’s invitation. It begins with being grafted into Christ, held there by grace. From that place, fruit grows, sometimes slowly, sometimes unexpectedly, but always as a result of that living connection.

There is also something quietly reassuring here. Branches do not anxiously measure their fruit against one another. They do not strain to manufacture life. Their task, if we can call it that, is simply to remain connected.

And perhaps that speaks into our own lives of faith. In a world, and sometimes even in a Church, that can feel full of expectations, demands, and comparisons, Jesus offers something both simpler and deeper: abide in me. Stay close in prayer. Remain in my love. Receive the life I give. And then, trust that fruit will come.

As the early Church in Acts gathers to discern, they are, in their own way, seeking how best to remain faithful to that life; to ensure that what they ask of others does not obscure the grace at the heart of the Gospel.

That remains our task too.

To be a people who are deeply rooted in Christ, who take seriously the call to faithfulness, but who never lose sight of where life begins: not in what we achieve, but in whom we abide. Because it is there, in that living connection with Christ, that we find not only our identity, but our fruitfulness, and ultimately, our joy.