John 15:1-5
“I am the True Vine and my Father is the Vine Grower. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear fruit. And every branch that is fruit-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You have already been pruned by the word that I have spoken to you.
“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear fruit by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
I would make a terrible vine-grower — or any kind of farmer for that matter. I cannot bear to prune back my plants. I hate cutting off still living parts of a plant even though I know full well that the plant will be stronger and healthier if I do. I end up with a lot of scraggly plants in my yard — nowhere near as attractive as they would be if only I would prune them better.
I’m lucky enough to have incredible roses in my yard, but that’s only because my occasional yard guy prunes them ruthlessly every winter. If it were left to me, that wouldn’t happen. But that’s me, and I’m not God, thank heavens.
In our story today, God as vine-grower appears to have no qualms about pruning, and Jesus, who is the vine, grows and flourishes — and so do we who are the fruit attached to that vine. A fruit cannot grow if it is separated from the vine. That seems pretty obvious. If fruit wishes to grow it must do so while attached to the life of the vine.
Scripture is filled with references to fruit, both literal and metaphorical. There is the famous apple that has been used to vilify Eve from the very beginning – although it may not have been an apple at all, scripture simply says fruit. One of the oldest and strictest rules the Hebrew people were expected to live by is the prohibition against stripping all the fruit from a vineyard at harvest time. There was always to be fruit left behind for the widow and orphan and for the traveler passing through.
Grapes and vines show up so often on scripture because they were one of the most common things in biblical culture. People of that time and place understood about vines and how they grow and how best to help them bear good fruit.
I happen to live in wine country. I have no direct link to any of it, but I know a fair amount about optimum temperatures and late spring freeze and sugar levels just because they are such common topics of conversation around here. Grapes are both big business and ordinary stuff.
Grape vines, specifically, are mentioned more than any other plant in scripture, Raisins, wine, and vinegar, all come from this one valuable plant, all valuable in a hot drink country without refrigeration. These vines are valuable even though they are grown solely for their fruit -- there is apparently no other use for the vine in the Scriptures.
Vineyards play a large role in Jesus’ parables. There is the story of the vineyard worker who, even though he began working at the end of the workday, was paid the same as those who had worked all day though. And then, of course, there is today’s reading.
Like many of the uses mentioned here, our reading today is metaphor, and for once it isn’t too dense for us to understand: We are the fruit, Jesus is the vine, and God is the one who cares for us and desires us to bloom and prosper into all that we could be — even if that requires some pruning. It is interesting here to note that the Greek word the writer John uses for prune and cleanse is the same.
Story-teller/theologian John Shea, in his book Stories of God explains that in the Old Testament, God is the primary actor, an active character — God speaks and acts directly and personally with God’s people. God creates the world; God speaks to Moses and the prophets...
But in the New Testament, God pretty much ceases to be an active player directly. Instead, Jesus becomes that active speaker and doer. He is the one who speaks and acts. And instead of the lead actor, God has now become the plot of the whole story. No longer the one acting out and teaching about the story — God is the story.
In our story of vines and fruit, the fruit does not experience the vine-grower directly but only through the vine. We, the fruit, share our experience of love and caring directly with the vine itself — that vine that shares our humanity and our limitations. It is through the vine that we learn to know the story. Through the vine that we learn and grow and thrive to become the fruit God calls us to be.
Therefore, it is important for us to remain attached to that vine – that source of wholesome life and growth. et us always remember this.
Amen.
I’m lucky enough to have incredible roses in my yard, but that’s only because my occasional yard guy prunes them ruthlessly every winter. If it were left to me, that wouldn’t happen. But that’s me, and I’m not God, thank heavens.
In our story today, God as vine-grower appears to have no qualms about pruning, and Jesus, who is the vine, grows and flourishes — and so do we who are the fruit attached to that vine. A fruit cannot grow if it is separated from the vine. That seems pretty obvious. If fruit wishes to grow it must do so while attached to the life of the vine.
Scripture is filled with references to fruit, both literal and metaphorical. There is the famous apple that has been used to vilify Eve from the very beginning – although it may not have been an apple at all, scripture simply says fruit. One of the oldest and strictest rules the Hebrew people were expected to live by is the prohibition against stripping all the fruit from a vineyard at harvest time. There was always to be fruit left behind for the widow and orphan and for the traveler passing through.
Grapes and vines show up so often on scripture because they were one of the most common things in biblical culture. People of that time and place understood about vines and how they grow and how best to help them bear good fruit.
I happen to live in wine country. I have no direct link to any of it, but I know a fair amount about optimum temperatures and late spring freeze and sugar levels just because they are such common topics of conversation around here. Grapes are both big business and ordinary stuff.
Grape vines, specifically, are mentioned more than any other plant in scripture, Raisins, wine, and vinegar, all come from this one valuable plant, all valuable in a hot drink country without refrigeration. These vines are valuable even though they are grown solely for their fruit -- there is apparently no other use for the vine in the Scriptures.
Vineyards play a large role in Jesus’ parables. There is the story of the vineyard worker who, even though he began working at the end of the workday, was paid the same as those who had worked all day though. And then, of course, there is today’s reading.
Like many of the uses mentioned here, our reading today is metaphor, and for once it isn’t too dense for us to understand: We are the fruit, Jesus is the vine, and God is the one who cares for us and desires us to bloom and prosper into all that we could be — even if that requires some pruning. It is interesting here to note that the Greek word the writer John uses for prune and cleanse is the same.
Story-teller/theologian John Shea, in his book Stories of God explains that in the Old Testament, God is the primary actor, an active character — God speaks and acts directly and personally with God’s people. God creates the world; God speaks to Moses and the prophets...
But in the New Testament, God pretty much ceases to be an active player directly. Instead, Jesus becomes that active speaker and doer. He is the one who speaks and acts. And instead of the lead actor, God has now become the plot of the whole story. No longer the one acting out and teaching about the story — God is the story.
In our story of vines and fruit, the fruit does not experience the vine-grower directly but only through the vine. We, the fruit, share our experience of love and caring directly with the vine itself — that vine that shares our humanity and our limitations. It is through the vine that we learn to know the story. Through the vine that we learn and grow and thrive to become the fruit God calls us to be.
Therefore, it is important for us to remain attached to that vine – that source of wholesome life and growth. et us always remember this.
Amen.
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