The Faithful Vine

A Reflection on the Second Reading for February 6th, 2022:
The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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​1 Corinthians
15.3-8, 11 (shorter)
(For the longer version, see the print edition of Living with Christ.)

Brothers and sisters, I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
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Imagine seeing the risen Christ. A man – a teacher – who had been rejected by the religious establishment and crucified by the Roman Empire amid the jeers and taunts of the onlookers who dared Him to save Himself.
 


How would you feel? Would you believe it?
 


I can imagine the elation and ecstasy of that moment. Something special – something unimaginable – is happening, and you’re smack dab in the middle of it! He speaks the truth. God exists and is present, and you’re left wondering that you ever doubted at all.
 


However, before you can really settle into your new reality, He suddenly leaves. Things no longer appear as clear as when He’d been there. There is confusion and fear. You feel the absence of Him. You are bereft.
 


All you have to hear is a whisper of doubt to start to feel a little foolish. Feeling foolish is awful. And then you start to come across the people who never saw the risen Christ. They look at you with such skepticism that you start to realize how ridiculous and unbelievable you sound. And then the old narrative – the one you had before you encountered the risen Christ – quietly returns.
 


There are highs and there are lows in a life of faith – moments when God is so present that you feel like you could reach out and touch Him, and moments when you feel utterly alone.
 


Unfortunately, they seem to follow one another in a pattern.
 


Reflecting on this Sunday’s second reading, my mind wandered to other moments in the Bible where this pattern is present. The first moment that came to mind was Eve in the Garden with the serpent; the second was the parable of the Two Eagles and the Vine in the Book of Ezekiel. In both instances, we see someone, or something, that generously receives God’s love and gifts before He departs for a time. During His absence, another arrives who challenges this person or thing. Eve responds by believing the serpent; the vine responds by leaning towards the newer, but inferior, eagle.
 


Both passages speak into our faithfulness to God. Do we truly love God, or do we just like the good feelings He incites in us and the gifts He bestows? Is our faithfulness to Him simply a response to the tangible sense of His faithfulness to us, or will it be steadfast, lasting even when He doesn’t feel present?
 


As a collective, we have experienced the exhilarating high of the risen Christ after His crucifixion. The low that followed, which has lasted 2000 years, is undoubtedly rough. But He promises to return, and we’re called to believe Him, rejecting the whispers, invitations and challenges that tempt us to stray.
 


In these trying times, I pray that you continue to persevere, showing yourself to be the faithful vine, worthy of the promises of Christ.




Laura Dysart
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