Senior School Reflection | Gospel of John 15: 1 - 8, 5th Wednesday of Easter, 2026, Year B
There was once a college student named Tom who was loved by his peers. Nothing about him seemed unusual except for one thing. Tom had a large red birthmark that ran from one eye, down his face, across his mouth, down his neck, and onto his chest.
One day, a close friend finally asked him, “Tom, can I ask you something? How did you ever overcome the emotional pain of having a birthmark like that?”
Tom answered without hesitation. “It’s because of my dad,” he said.
He explained, “When I was young, my dad would point to my birthmark and say, ‘Son, this is where an angel kissed you. He wanted to mark you out just for your dad. You’re very special to me.’
“He told me that so often that I began to believe it. And now,” Tom said with a smile, “I sometimes feel sorry for my friends who don’t have a birthmark — because they don’t have something that reminds them every day that they are claimed and loved.
That story matters today for us —not because the Gospel is about birthmarks, or settling for less but because Jesus is giving us something even deeper than a daily reminder. He is giving us a vital connection.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus paints a clear picture of our relationship with him, it’s not just about improvement. He says that he is the vine and we are the branches. A branch does not give itself life. It does not decide where it grows or how it receives nourishment. Its role is simple but essential: to remain connected. Jesus does not merely say, “try harder.” He says, in effect, “remain. Abide.” Which can be hard at times.
Jesus reminds us of a spiritual law: when a branch abides in the vine, it bears fruit; when it separates, it withers. This is why Jesus insists so strongly on that vital word “abide.” Because without him we can do nothing.
Think of a football team. The team is not self-generated The coach sets the agenda and the training, and the players shows up; they don’t just simply comply, they follow the program so the team’s life can do what it’s meant to do. When they’re united with the coach’s plan in the deep sense of a shared life: showing up, learning the plays, living the discipline, the team flourishes. When one breaks that connection, when he stops showing up, behaves unruly, he performs poorly and eventually stops being part of the vine of the team.
Like the story of Tom, this Gospel is about acceptance. Not about “accepting your role” or accepting to resign ourselves”, or “settling for less” but accepting the fact that your wellbeing is dependent on another. You are not a self-contained island. Jesus invites us to accept by letting him be the source. We are not the vine. We are not the source. We do not make the rules or decide the direction. We are created by God, sustained by him, and invited to draw life from him. When we accept that reality rather than resist it, growth always follows.
This call to acceptance is not restrictive, nor is it forced upon us. It is an invitation. Jesus invites us to remain close to him, to draw from him as the source of our strength, direction, and identity. He knows what will help us flourish, and he invites us daily to live according to his word a word that calls us to love, holiness, and obedience.
In our school context, these three ideas take very practical forms.
Love begins with basic respect for one another: listening, showing courtesy, and being disciplined in our work. It includes having self-respect. Thomas Aquinas wrote that we cannot truly love others unless we first recognise and value our own worth. In practical terms, that means caring for ourselves, protecting our own wellbeing from harm and knowing this is good and must be preserved as a value. From there we can extend this same good beyond ourselves, carefully looking out for each other, ensuring that the person beside us is safe and respected.
Holiness is about being faithful to the Christian values of this school. It is lived through honesty, consistency, and integrity — choosing what is right even when it is unnoticed or inconvenient. Sometimes it looks like accepting limits and living responsibly: making sure what you share online is safe, true and respectful of your reputation and the school.
Obedience is about being faithful to what is asked of us. In the Gospel, obedience means walking in the footsteps of Jesus, and in John 15 Jesus links abiding to keeping his word: if you abide in me, and my words abide in you. At school, obedience looks like listening to teachers, committing to learning, and trusting that those guiding you are invested in your growth — academically, personally, and spiritually: so remember to pull up your socks, and tuck your shirts in.
I’m confident that many here already try to remain connected to Christ as branches of his vine by being present, responsible, respectable and ready to learn and apply what you discovered through that process. However, the message to take away today is sharper and deeper than “sticking to the rules.” It is this:
Where we resist
abiding?
What habits, distractions or
attitudes that pull you away from the vine of Christ?
What gets in the way of
embracing your role here at school? What prevents you from trusting that you
are already known, claimed, and loved?
What might you need to change so that Christ’s words can truly abide in you?
The story of Tom reminds each of
us that we are claimed and loved by God the Father, a love clearly revealed in the
Son’s sacrifice on the cross and expressed in the love between a parent and
child. Like a branch on the vine, fruitfulness comes not from striving to be a self-contained
island, but from staying connected to the source of life, Jesus. When we accept
who we are and whose we are, growth always follows as beloved branches in the
vine of Christ, children of God the Father, and some of the best students to
walk through the school gates.
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