It is with this love which is shown through the love of our neighbors that we abide in Jesus and bear fruits.

Jesus was very straightforward in affirming that He is the true vine without which we can do nothing and therefore we have to remain/abide in Him. The importance of the word “remain/abide” in John’s Gospel can be understood from its exceptionally frequent use (forty times as compared to only twelve times in the Synoptics) and its meaning.

To John, it signified a deep attachment, an unchanged loyalty and a constant communion. In the Gospel reading, Jesus painstakingly urged the disciples to attach to Him in a way that was beyond even the most intense connection. In the Synoptic Gospels, this demanded relationship with Jesus was an absolute commitment which surpassed even one’s family bonds (Mt 10:37; Lk 14:25) and obligations (Mt 8:21; Lk 9:60-62). It is the root of discipleship and the abiding element is none other than love --- a reciprocal love to God who first loves us.

No wonder then, the centrality of Jesus does not cut off one’s relationship with others. On the contrary, in drawing nourishment from this close bond with Him, one cannot but reach out to love others. Love is no longer a private exclusive relationship but a love that spreads out and is all encompassing. Hence a truly intimate union with Jesus is not an emotion but a willful decision. A decision to love “not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 Jn 3:18), that is, obeying God’s commandments and keeping Jesus’ words of loving one another.

It is with this love which shown through the love of our neighbors that we abide in Jesus and bear fruits.