Chapter 15 of John's Gospel presents a beautiful theology of mutual divine indwelling: God in us and us in God. This is further deepened in the image of the vine, which conveys the deep intimacy of this communion as there is no distinction between the vine and its branches, for the vine is the branches.

"Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruits in plenty."(v.5). This is the assurance to us if we live each day in His presence. We are also reminded to focus on our union with Jesus and not give undue attention to the externals expressed in our rituals.This is reflected in the first reading, wherein the setting was the cause for the meeting of the Church in Jerusalem to consider the nature of the true Gospel.

The matter of concern was that some Jewish believers were urging the Gentile believers to be circumcised, keeping with the Mosaic Law to be saved. This was also the concern in Paul's letter to the Galatians (Acts 15:1). However, we know that if the Church embraced this teaching, Christianity would become a mere sect of Judaism. We have to be discerning to decide if the rituals we practice are in line with the true Gospel teaching.

During this Easter season, let us become more aware of our Christian responsibility, particularly in discernment, to help us draw closer to Jesus like the branches and the vine, always depending on the movements of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.