By Bishop George Kolodziej sds
Dear Friends
Christ has risen! Happy Easter!
God loves us – each of us – exactly as we are. That is a reason for joy!
In the Gospel of John, Jesus promises us that his joy can be in us, and that this joy is complete (15:11).
No ifs, no buts: complete joy. It is an extraordinary promise!
And Jesus provides us with a way to connect with that promise: by abiding in Him.
What does that mean?
Fortunately for us in Bunbury, Jesus explains with a parable that is close to home: a grapevine.
From Margaret River all the way to the Porongurup, our Diocese is blessed with exceptional grapevines.
They produce good fruit: healthy, rich in flavour, full of potential. And that good fruit produces world-famous wine.
Jesus loved agricultural parables – they were familiar to his followers, and they’re familiar to many of us.
Of the grapevine he says that he is the true vine, his Father is the vigneron, and we the branches. (John 15:1)
What does it take for a vine branch to produce good fruit?
Its connection to the vine and the tender and careful cultivation of the vigneron.
The word Jesus uses to describe this connection is abiding: “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” (John 15:4)
The original Greek word for abide means to stay, to dwell. Stay with Jesus, dwell with Him, our Risen Lord, and you will flourish, just as the fruit of the vine does. Abide with Jesus, experience His complete joy.
Jesus’ original audience were practical people, and I know many of you are too. What does it mean to abide with the Lord now, in 2025, in the Diocese of Bunbury?
I would like to offer you three suggestions this Easter time.
It is in loving one another, in prayer and the Sacraments, and in sharing the Gospel of joy that we can abide with Christ and experience his complete joy.
Jesus provides concrete advice for those wishing to abide in Him: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.” (John 15:10) Just a few verses later he makes it clearer still: “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 15:13)
Jesus shows us how to love: that self-sacrificial love that is concerned for the good of others. That seeks justice. That responds to suffering with compassion. Love in this way, abide in Christ, experience His complete joy.
Just as a branch is inseparable from a vine, we can make ourselves inseparable from Christ by spending time with Him in prayer and experiencing His proximity and His love in the sacraments. Jesus is closer to us then we are to ourselves, and the Sacramental life of the church provides us with a central way of experiencing this. Come to Mass – experience the closeness of Christ!
And as we experience the joy of Christ, we realise that we cannot help but share it.
We are a missionary Church, called to reach out to every place and every periphery to share God’s love and enable others to experience his complete joy. Jesus came near to those who others cast aside, and He asks us to do the same.
This also means removing those barriers within ourselves and within our Church that prevent us from going towards others, whoever and wherever they are. We must be the loving presence that God calls us to be, showing people that the God of love is near to them, whoever and wherever they are.
At Easter, Jesus shows us that this love and the joy which flows from it overcomes even the darkness of suffering and the coldness of death. His love can illuminate the darkest corners of ourselves, and His joy can warm the coldest parts of our lives.
Let us rejoice in this Good News together! Happy Easter!
+George Kolodziej sds
Bishop of Bunbury
