The present selection from John (John 15:9-17) continues the vine metaphor. This time however the emphasis is on the loving relationship that should exist among the disciples who "cling" to the Lord. The main imperative here is "Remain in my love."
The verb "to remain" (Greek, menein menein) is translated by different English words. It is also rendered as "to dwell", "to live." Even in English (as in Filipino), both words can be synonimous. "To live" or "to dwell" in a certain place is to stay there permanently. Thus, "to remain, dwell, live" in the Lord's love is to stay there as a habitus, and not temporarily.
The main lines of the discourse can be illustrated thus:
"Remain in my love" is nothing more than keeping the commandment "love one another as I have loved you." The phrase "as I love you" brings to mind the kind of love that finds expression on the cross. It is not mere friendship, but agapic-love that includes the self-emptying of the one who loves for his beloved. "No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." (v. 13)
In John 12:24 Jesus had already spoken of the dying grain of wheat in reference to his hour of self-oblation. "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it produces much fruit" The fruit that the grain of wheat bears is wheat and other grains of wheat that in their turn can bear more fruit. The passage is found in the context of a saying on discipleship that emphasizes dying to self and following Jesus: "that where I am, there my servant shall be."
In John 13:14-15 Jesus refers back to the washing of the feet with these words: "If I therefore, the Master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
The washing of the feet is a model of service expressive of the graceful disposition that the Lord has for his disciples. On a deeper level however since it is contrasted with bathing (of baptism), the washing of feet becomes a symbole of that forgiveness that should characterize the relationship of disciples among themselves. Luke expresses it as "Be compassionate as your Heavenly Father is compassionate." The command "love one another as I have loved you" therefore, includes a whole gamut of actions and attitutes that fully identifies one as a friend of Jesus.
In John 15:14-15, Jesus renames his disciples "friends." The they have become his confidantes; to them he has told what he has heard from the Father. They have become privy to matters that are shared between the Father and the Son. These "friends" have virtually become members of Jesus' household. Friends after all are the family one chooses for oneself just as the family are the friends one is born into. The synoptics characterize Jesus' choice of disciples with a look. In John's gospel, the choice derives from Jesus' decision to give his life for those whom the Father has given him. (cf. John 10:29)
