St. Augustine says that the Lord has created us for himself and our hearts are restless until they rest in him. In the passage of John 15:1-7 Jesus Christ makes it clear that he is the only one who can satisfy the profound hunger of the world and the desperate yearning of the human heart. He says he is the true vine, the source of life and spiritual nourishment. Without him we wither and die. Though we may continue to move around, without Jesus the true vine, we have indeed no life in us. The vine in ancient Israel was the symbol of a peaceful home, a resting place, a place of comfort, consolation and prosperity (Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15:6; Hosea 10:1; I kings 4:25; Micah 4:4). Jesus is the giver of life, the fulfilment of all that was best in Israel's history. There is a cause and effect relationship between abiding in Christ and bearing much fruit. It is those who dwell in him that bear fruit in plenty. The fruits entail keeping his commandments, chief among which is loving one another. While the internal sign of our union with Christ is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the external test of our mystical union with Christ is the keeping of his commandments.
There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. Christian life is only possible where God dwells. Holiness of life is only possible in one for whom "life is Christ." St. Paul says that "I live now, not my own life, but the life of he who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). It was St. Paul also who while reflecting on the implications of the mutual indwelling of Christ and the believer declares in Philippians 1:21 that "life to me is Christ." Not to have Christ is to be dead. For St. John, faith and works, belief and obedience, union with God and love of neighbour, are not two separate things but two faces of the same thing. As we abide in Christ, as we receive nourishment from him through prayer, through the Word, through the sacraments, especially of the Eucharist, we become disposed to bearing much fruit by way of keeping his commandments and manifesting the fruits of the Spirit which St. Paul lists in Galatians 5:22 as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.
It is precisely because many people are cut off from Christ, the true vine, the source of life, the source of peace and happiness that there is so much pain, so much violence, so much misery, and so much hunger in the world. Yes, many people (even among those who claim Christianity) are cut off from Christ by virtue of their lack of faith and trust in God and their life of sin. Many people have no life of God in them, and so they are dead. Jesus told Nicodemus that it is the spirit that gives life. All those who live only in the flesh, are bound to be blind and restless. Their lives are bound to be futile and hopeless. And when the dominant culture of the world is godless, then there will be the reign of darkness and all the evils that accompany it.
Is it any wonder therefore that at the threshold of the twenty-first century alienated humanity should be so seriously plagued by divorce, frustration, loneliness, depression, boredom, violent crime, civil unrest and war? Is it surprising that our generation has the highest rate of suicide in recorded human history? Is it surprising that in our day the phenomena of secret cults and drug abuse are sweeping through the institutions of higher learning like an epidemic, and engaging thousands of youths in a dance of death? Are these not symptoms of an overwhelming sense of futility? Are they not evidences of a widespread loss of meaning and hope in human existence? Can we not see nemesis at work in all these? Having lost their spiritual roots, are individual men and women, and indeed entire societies and generations not bound to starve, wither and collapse?
The Hindu Mystic Gandhi had listed among the seven deadly social sins, politics without principles, wealth without work, commerce without morality, pleasure without conscience, education without character, science without humanity and worship without sacrifice. Only recently the entire world was shocked at what has become an imminent possibility - the cloning of human beings. After the successful cloning by British scientists of the sheep called Dolly, and the many attempts already made to clone human beings, the eyes of many have become open to the fact that without faith, without conscience, without morality, human knowledge can turn against the human being and destroy him. In an attempt to satisfy the hunger of the heart, many scientists have tried all sorts of outrageous experiments, but as usual the hunger persists.
Many people recognise that the world is plagued by hunger on many fronts, but the hunger of the world is not a merely social, economic or political problem. It is a spiritual problem that manifests itself on the social, economic, political and cultural levels of human existence. The hunger of the world is above all a theological problem that will not be solved, save by theological means. The void created by the loss of the life of God cannot be filled by any other entity. Only a return to God will satisfy the greatest yearning of the human heart and the human society.
In the desperate search for solution to the profound hunger of the heart, today's men and women have encountered many thieves, rogues and brigands who are only out to steal, to cheat and to destroy. Many people are actually being fed on poison, while others are wasting their time and effort on what is not food at all. But the void created by the loss of the life of God cannot be filled by any other entity. Only God in Christ will satisfy the greatest hunger of the human heart and the yearning of human society. It is within this context and in the midst of this scenario that Jesus Christ presents himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (Jn.10:11), the Bread of life which offers the true satisfaction for the hunger of the heart (Jn.6:58), the true Gate of the sheepfold (Jn.10:9), the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn.14:6).
He says that as the Good Shepherd, the sheep that belong to him listen to his voice. He says that those who do not belong to his sheepfold hunger and thirst, they starve. They are also easy prey for wolves. Besides him, other people who parade themselves as shepherds are not authentic. Like mercenaries or hirelings, they lack genuine interest for the flock. They are interested only in themselves and what they stand to gain. They will abandon the sheep as soon as they see the wolf approaching. They are not shepherds but thieves, rogues and brigands.
Jesus invites all who hunger and thirst to come to him in order to find satisfaction, peace, consolation and salvation. He calls to himself all who thirst. They are to come and drink. He says in John 14:27 "I leave you peace, my own peace I give you; the peace which the world cannot give is my gift to you." Jesus is the resting place for all who have laboured and are overburdened, for all who have borne the heavy yoke of poverty, sickness, oppression, discrimination, persecution, loneliness, rejection, childlessness, problem children, and spousal infidelity and abuse, for he says in Matthew 11:28 "Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." It is in him and in him alone that even today the wounded heart can be healed, the broken family can be mended, and alienated humanity can be reconciled with God, with neighbour, and with the natural environment.
The core of the Christian mystery of salvation lies in the dramatic irony of the shepherd who dies in order to save his flock. This incongruous image contrasts sharply with our everyday experience, but as St. Paul says, that is the foolishness of God which is wiser than human wisdom, the weakness of God that is greater than human strength. We are dealing here with the power of love that overcame sin and death. It is by sacrificial love that Christ satisfies the profound hunger that plagues the human heart and makes so many human beings ever so restless. Jesus demonstrated through his suffering and death, profound love of and care for the flock, constant vigilance, fearlessness, and courage. Jesus is therefore the answer to the hunger of the world for genuine, committed and selfless leadership. Jesus is the answer to the hunger of men and women for true love, fidelity and communion.
Jesus is the answer to the world's longing for light. Amidst the darkness of sin and human depravity, expressed in idolatry and promiscuity, Jesus presents himself as the light. Within the midnight of hatred and weakness, manifested in war, armed banditry, political thuggery, hired assassination, murder and arson, Jesus offers the world light. Yes, in the dark tunnel of corruption, whose fruits are fraud, theft, bribery and a culture of settlement, Jesus says: "I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will not be walking in darkness, but will have the light of life".
