Gospel in Art: Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away

Gardener Pruning a Tree, Etching by Jacques Callot, 1628 © National Gallery of Art, Washington

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 1 May 2024
John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:

'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more.

You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away - he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.'

Reflection on the Etching

Pruning is a very ancient practice. It is one of the foremost actions where humans intervene in nature to try to improve and embellish nature. Pruning the vines, as in our Gospel reading, makes them grow back even more productive and fruitful. Or pruning can be done simply to make things look tidier and more aesthetically pleasing: think of boxwood hedges, for example. The gardener who does the pruning, such as the man depicted in our etching, must have knowledge and awareness of what he is doing. Pruning happens for a purpose, with a clear goal in mind. It requires focus. This focus will make the pruner cut even the smallest of branches to create the optimal result.

That is what Jesus is prompting us to do in today's reading: to cut off not just the largest branches which would drag us down, but even the smallest ones if that can help us to bear more fruit. We are asked to prune whatever blocks our spiritual growth.

Our engraving by Jacques Callot shows the man even putting up a stick to support the tree. Pruning and supporting is what the spiritual life needs: pruning to cut away the distractions and supporting to sustain us in our growth. Our etching was printed in 1628 and was part of a series titled the 'Light of the Cloister'. For its time this was quite a simple, non-elaborate etching, just focusing on a single theme without further distractions depicted in the background. Callot's loose style of etching also gives it a fairly contemporary feel to our 21st-century aesthetic taste.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-15-1-8-2024-2/
Competition: The Laudamus Award 2024 for Sacred Art - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49310