Thought for the Week

10 May 2009 – Easter 5

Collect:	Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life: raise us, who trust in him, from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, that we may seek those things which are above, where he reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings:	Acts 8, 26 – end
	Psalm 22, 25 - end
	1 John 4, 7 – end
	John 15, 1 – 8

Living in France gives us a vivid and meaningful understanding of the setting for Jesus’ illustration in our reading from John’s Gospel. Vineyards are a common sight for most of us. Isn’t it wonderful to see the vines coming to life again with a new season of growth? The growth is gentle at first but as the weeks march on, the vigneron has to regularly tend the vines and control the almost rampant growth in order to produce a healthy crop of grapes. If the vines are not managed correctly there is a mass of leaves and little fruit. All the goodness goes into growing leaves and not fruit.

Vines are less susceptible to drought than other plants. When all around is dry and parched, the vines continue to show growth and life. Their deep root systems mean that they can draw on sources of water not available to other plant life. It is not uncommon for the root systems of vines to extend up to six metres into the soil. There is also something else to notice. Once the main stem of the vine is fully developed it directs all it’s energy into the new branches and the fruit. The branches and fruit are pruned each year but, the main stem of the vine remains the same year on year.

It is quite easy to see why Jesus used the vine as a picture of himself and the work of the Father. Jesus is the deep-rooted, unchanging vine providing the source of life to the branches, and the Father is the vigneron, managing the growth to ensure that a healthy crop of fruit is produced. A great and vivid picture for us, but also a difficult lesson for us to learn in relation to the pruning that will be necessary.

Notice that Jesus states he is the true vine. He didn’t just compare himself to a vine. He said I am the true vine. Unlike the nation of Israel which God had chosen, planted and cultivated to be fruitful. Sadly they were unfruitful.

In addition to showing us the role of Jesus and the Father, this picture shows to us our role. We are the branches of the vine. We are the expression of Jesus. He is the source of life and we are the expression of that life. The first step for us is to ‘get connected’ to Jesus our Lord. To be truly alive you have to be connected to the source of life. A branch will wither and die if it is not connected to a source of food. There is no choice in the matter. The stem of the vine is not just a useful part in the life of the branch, it is critical to it’s life. Likewise with us as branches. If you wish to live and grow you must be connected to Jesus. He is not just a useful part, he is the very centre of your life. Without Jesus there is no growth.

I hope that you have made that connection to Jesus. If you have, you are now connected to the source of all life. When we decide to follow Jesus there will be life changing consequences. Jesus emphasised those differences when describing what his kingdom is like. In all cases his kingdom is quite different to our normal way of life. Jesus knows that it is difficult for us to live this new way of life and therefore encourages us to remain connected and draw life from him.

Now for the most difficult aspect of what I believe Jesus was trying to get us to understand. Growth is great but, it also has to be the right sort of growth. If vines are not tended there will be a great flurry of leaf growth and very little fruit. What looks like good growth has to be cut back for the sake of the fruit. Pruning looks damaging at first but, it allows the plant to grow better.

Jesus was suggesting that there will be times when we think that we are really growing well but, he knows that it is not the best way. There are going to be times when we think that all is going well and then Jesus will come along and prune our growth. Prune what we think is good and useful. At first we will struggle to understand and maybe even question what is happening. God knows best. He already knows the outcome. We just need to give it to God and let him use us. The result will amaze us and one day we will look back and understand why it had to be that way. To allow the fruit to be bountiful and good.

Jesus said ‘apart from me you can do nothing’. You can do nothing that is of value and worthwhile. You cannot be fruitful in your life. How are we fruitful? We live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God. To put a smile on His face. We were created for that purpose. Listen to God and he will show you the way to live. There may be some surprises on the way and God may need to prune a bit but, you will produce great fruit. He will be the true vine and you will be a true disciple. What can be more satisfying than that?

Adrian Wilson: Reader, Anglican Chaplaincy of Midi-Pyrénées & Aude

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