Vine-branches-fruit

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower . . . you are the branches . . . Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (From today’s Gospel reading, Jn. 15: 1-8).

Through this biblical metaphor, Christ lovingly reminds us that He is the Divine Vine, and we are His human branches that are given the privilege of bearing fruit according to our unique, individual potentials. Thus, we are to be co-creators with the Divine Creator. Creativity is the fruit of staying attached as branches to the Vine.

To begin with, every human person is a wonder all by himself/herself. All the parts of the human person — mind, body, and spirit — are orchestrated in such a way that every living, loving, functioning person is no less than a walking miracle from the Creator’s hands. From a scientific point of view, every part of the human body is a marvel in itself: the super-intricate brain and how it functions; the hyper-wonderful heart and its circulatory system; the oft taken-for-granted muscles of each hand and how they work in so many ways. From all this comes the greater marvel of one’s psycho-emotional self. Our feelings, affection, and capacity to love. And the greatest marvel of it all is one’s spiritual self and direct connectivity with God Himself. All this in your person and in mine. How many persons have been created since the beginning of time until today, not to mention all the tomorrows. The wonder of God’s creation — the human person!

Just take a few examples of this on-going creativity of the human person. In the field of medicine, to heal and prolong human life: from kidney transplants to heart by-pass operations to numerous, successful chemotherapies. In the field of communication: from the wonders of the internet to the incredible amount of information that can be stored in your hand-carried gadget called cellphone. Most of all, in the field of direct service to the community, especially the poor: from our ever-growing number of NGOs to the Priests, Brothers, Sisters, and lay-workers whose very profession is to reach out to others who need them most.

Each person, from the uneducated to the highly educated, is called to be a fruitful branch of the Vine. The husband and wife who continuously reach out to each other’s needs as intimate friends and passionate lovers. The father and mother who give all they have and all they are to their children in unconditional love.

The farmer who tills the land day after day, year after year, until his human energy is no more. In a similar way, the fisherman who daily sets out to sea, from decade to decade, until he cannot do it anymore. What about the carpenter who is an active part of a construction firm until his retirement due to his age.

There is the school teacher and the university professor who teach our youth from day to day, year after year, until younger teachers and professors take their place, for they are now wrinkled and old. Take that doctor who has been treating patients from all sectors of society for the last 40 years, until he himself now needs a doctor in his last days.

The fruits of all the above and many, many more are beyond reckoning. The quantity and quality of God’s creativity through us can never be measured in terms of money.

Recently, I was gifted with a book entitled Profiles Encourage: Ordinary Filipinos Making An Extraordinary Difference. Each one of them (except for the professional boxer) is an inspiring, fruitful branch from the original Vine.

Let me single out just one of them due to limited space. At the height of her youth, and listening to her heart’s desire, Ika David resigned from a promising career in the business world here in Metro Manila and volunteered to teach among the poor in Mindanao. She was sent to a small makeshift school in the outskirts of Palawan. She lived in the midst of poverty, but through it all, she fell in love with the people, and the people fell in love with her. She claimed that everyone in the community gave her more than she could ever give back. Later on, she was able to put up the DORM Fund, for under-served rural communities whose children deserve an access to a good education. Back here in Metro Manila, she wants to teach at her alma mater, UP Diliman, “with the aim of molding more socially responsible leaders who always think of the common good.”

Now, why did I exclude the professional boxer? In Christian moral teaching, professional boxing cannot be defended on moral grounds. In this very column last Feb. 12, 2006, I already quoted extensively from three eminent moral theologians, who are unanimous in stating that professional boxing is immoral. In a boxing match, the very intention of each boxer is to knock down the other, even to the point of serious harm, like brain damage. (Remember Ali?) Yes, creativity can be used for the wrong reasons, due to human frailty. If Christ were physically present among us today, you can be sure that He will condemn professional boxing, for every person is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).