St Paul seems to have  repeated Jesus experience of his "own"; the Hellenists "knew him not " and  wanted to kill him. As a Roman Citizen of Tarsus St Paul's native tongue was undoubtedly Greek, but St Paul knew himself to be a Jew who had been steeped in the Scriptures; a Pharisee pupil of Gamaliel. We are not told what it was that caused his people to want him dead; it cannot have been a suspicion of his motives as Barnabas was quick in his defence but the threat must have been really serious as he was sent back to Tarsus. All these events of the first days are continued on an ever increasing scale until our times hence we can test our consciences by trying to understand Scriptures.

Dear God you are greater than my conscience send your Holy Spirit so that I may welcome your Word by following His teaching.

The vine is a favourite image of the God and His Church who saves us. We need to remember that our consciences must be formed by God and are not just a wishful thinking on our part. There are rules that must be followed by the whole earth. These rules were confirmed by Jesus and sealed by his  Death and Resurrection. Nobody can mock God and live. Clergy who ignore the sins of their sheep are mocking God . Are they not afraid? The fate of the dead branches is pretty graphic.

Dear Lord let me this day not prune myself from the living vine . Let me be able to grow the life you have given to me to be worthy of your love.