“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

• Christ reminded us at the Last Supper, when he told his Apostles that he was the vine and they were the branches, that we should always stay united to him.
• His encounter with Mary and Martha in this Sunday’s Gospel teaches us the same lesson, a lesson that Martha really needed to learn.

Martha needed to learn that what we do for Christ has to flow out of what we are for him: true and devoted friends.