Today's Gospel has more hard sayings which confront us as disciples of the Lord. It is challenging to ask myself the questions: am I a blind guide?; am I a disciple who thinks I am above the teacher?; do I see the speck in my neighbour's eye ahead of the speck in my own?; do I bear bad fruit?; do I have a hoard of evil treasure in my heart from which my mouth speaks? Every time we come across a hard teaching in the Gospel we need to apply it first of all to ourselves. In this way the Lord can school us in the way of holiness just as he did with the first disciples. Like the rose bush or the grapevine we need to be pruned on a regular basis so that we can bear fruit for the Kingdom and also know the fullness of joy: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. he removes very branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed (pruned) by the word that I have spoken to you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me... My father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has love me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete." (Jn 14: 1-4, 8-11)
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