5th Sunday of Easter Year B
Sunday April 28, 2024
Mass Readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B
- First Reading – Acts 9:26-31: “When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.””
- Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 22: “I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.”
- Second Reading – 1 John 3:18-24: “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.”
- Gospel –John 15:1-8: “Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.”
Themes for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B
The readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B remind us of our dependence on God and each other. In the gospel Jesus explains that he is the vine and we must depend on him. The second reading also echoes this teaching.
- Community
- Humility
- Boldness
- Evangelization
See the Homilies and Reflections section and the More Thoughts section for further expansion on these readings and some reflection questions for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B.
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Resources for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B
Where Is God?
This prayer based on Psalm 22, which is the responsorial psalm for this Sunday. It is a prayer for when we feel like God is nowhere to be found. Psalm 22 is the psalm Jesus prayed from the cross when he quoted “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Who Is Your Support? – Discussion and Reflection Questions
This reflection will help youth consider where they find support. Are the people and things which hold them up part of the healthy vine of Jesus?
Homilies and Reflections for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B
The Meaning of Jesus as the Vine
Jeff Cavins discusses how we are nothing if we are separated from Christ because he is the vine and we are the branches.
This Hard Truth Will Help You Bear Much Fruit
From Chris Mueller. The vine grower cuts back the lovely vines of spring and summer. He aggressively prunes them to avoid disease and rot. Walk through the vineyard in winter and you will see what appears to be a wasteland. It isn’t. It just looks that way. Another season of fruit and harvest will come, but this season of pruning must pass first. Continue reading.
The Vine and the Branches
From Bishop Robert Barron. Jesus is not simply an inspiring teacher to whom we listen. He is a force in which we participate, a body in which we are cells and molecules, a river in which we swim. There is an organic relationship between Jesus and his creation. That is why Jesus can make the startling statements that he makes in today’s Gospel. Our existence, our life, our thought – all of this comes from the Logos, and apart from Him, we can bear no fruit.
On the Vine
From Scott Hahn. Paul in today’s First Reading seeks to be grafted onto the visible expression of Christ the true vine—His Church. Once the chief persecutor of the Church, Paul encounters initial resistance and suspicion. But he is known by his fruits, by his powerful witness to the Lord working in his life. Continue reading.
Becoming a Friend, Healer, and Teacher
Also from Bishop Barron. In our Gospel passage today, Jesus proclaims that he is the vine and we are the branches. There is give and take in this divine relationship. Not only are we rooted in Christ’s mystical body, but he endeavors to cultivate his love and mercy within our bodies. In this analogy, we find a powerful image of spiritual growth.
More Thoughts for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B
We’ve all been in a group of people where we didn’t feel like we fit it. Off to the side, nobody talking to us. It is very awkward. Imagine how St. Paul felt after his conversion! The disciples of Jesus were pretty suspicious of him, and not without reason. He had recently been persecuting Christians.
But the first reading tells us that Paul “spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.” It is his boldness, and the boldness of many other early Christians, which made it possible to pass on the faith to us today. And they not only speak boldly, but they also act boldly. They are living in a new type of community and ensured that all were cared for.
It is their words and actions which “built up” the early Church. We are also called to boldness. Many of us are not comfortable with active evangelization, but the Church needs our courage today as much as it did in the beginning. And we can bear fruit from our efforts when we trust in the Lord and get our strength from him.
Reflection Questions for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B
- What bold action am I being called to right now?
- How can I spread the Good News in my daily life?
- Do I trust in Jesus to provide the strength I need to act with courage?
Quotes and Social Media Graphics for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year B
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
To remain in Him is to abide actively and also reciprocally. The branches without the vine can do nothing, they need the sap to grow and to bear fruit; but the vine, too, needs the branches, since fruit does not grow on the tree trunk.
Pope Francis
Let us be fearless amid the messy situations all around us, because that is where the Lord is, in our midst; God continues to perform his miracle of bringing forth good fruit (Jn 15:5). Christian joy is born precisely of this certainty.
Pope Francis
Service makes our talents bear fruit and gives meaning to our lives. Those who do not live to serve, serve for little in this life.
Pope Francis
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