Keeping Up Connections

A wise person once said ... When it comes to getting ahead in life, it’s who you know, not what you know, that makes the biggest difference. In other words, personal connections are often more important than education, work experience or professional qualifications.

In our Gospel this weekend. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that personal connections are also important when it comes to the things of God. I am the Vine, he tells us, you are the branches. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

When it comes to eternal life, we can have a Ph.D. in theology and know the scriptures inside out, but without a personal relationship with Jesus we are going nowhere. As he himself tells us ... I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Our relationship with Jesus is the key that unlocks the gates of Heaven. United with him we live. Separated from him we wither and die, like branches cut off from the vine. And that leads us to the question of the day. What kind of relationship do I have with the Lord Jesus Christ? Is my connection with Jesus intimate and personal, a communion of kindred hearts? Or is it distanced and institutional, more like a business arrangement than a friendship?

Do I begin my day in conversation with Jesus and return to that conversation many times throughout the day? Do I set aside time for Jesus in my busy schedule? Time to read his Word. Time to ponder his teachings. Time that I fight to preserve and refuse to give up?

When I make important life decisions, do I seek to know the mind and heart of Jesus before turning to anyone else for advice or counsel? Is faithfulness to his will my number one priority?

Is the Sunday Eucharist, communion with Jesus, the heart and center of my week and of my life? Has being shut out of Mass by corona restrictions been a heavy burden to bear?

And when I sin, when I betray Jesus in my thoughts, words or actions, am I anxious and unsettled until I can be reconciled with him once again in the Sacrament of Confession?

A wise person once said .... When it comes to getting ahead in life, it’s who you know, not what you know, that makes the biggest difference. Would Jesus recognize you and me as intimate friends and companions? Are we connected to him like branches to a vine?

Msgr. Paul Zimmer
Pastor, St Clement Catholic Church, Etobicoke