Readings: Acts 9:26-31. 1Jn 3:18-21. Jn 15:1-8
In contemporary society, one of the tendencies is towards self-reliance and self-sufficiency. We attempt to resist authority, and the Authority it’s supposed to represent. We say we’re convinced and we need no overseer above our convictions. In fact, we mean that we already know and so don’t need a teacher. We wonder whether we can’t go where that person (representing authority) went and so live at their level without their input.
We forget that when we disconnect ourselves from the Source, we’re rendered powerless to produce the fruit we’re meant to produce. A lamp disconnected from its power source won’t give light. A branch dismembered from its mother stem will produce no fruit. A leader disconnected from Purpose loses the ability to lead. Our fruitfulness lies in our being channels (and not origins) for the manifestation of Supreme Goodness. No matter how misused authority may be, we must never lose sight of the Authority it represents, and the Purpose it’s meant for.
May Jesus Christ grant us the grace to remain in communion with Him, and so bear abundant fruit.