“I am the true vine”
John 15:1-8 (April 27, 2024)
I don’t love knots. I find them frustrating: Knots in my shoelaces. Knots in my camping gear. Knots in ropes and strings and threads that have to be untied. Knots in the garden hose that need to be untangled.
I don’t have patience for them. I don’t know where to begin. They’re like a puzzle that I cannot solve.
What happened to my Boy Scout training? I have badges that tell me I can do this. Bowline, Clove Hitch, Sheet Bend, Reef Knot – I used to know them all! But that knowledge has morphed into a twisted tangle of incomprehension.
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I know that knots can be a positive thing. And what I want to speak about this morning is the beautiful, intertwining of our lives with God. Something that connects us with God, and with each other, and with all creation – in one beautiful relationship of love.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus used the image of a vine. “I am the true vine,” he said.
It’s one of those “I am” statements in the Gospel of John, where Jesus uses the divine name to describe his own life and ministry. Last week he said, “I am the Good Shepherd.” This week he tells us, “I am the true vine. My Father is the vine grower. And you are the branches.”
We are invited to participate in this ongoing relationship between vine and branches: the Heavenly Father, Jesus and his disciples – all interconnected.
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Imagine a grape vine growing from seed: The stalk comes up out of the ground, then it branches off in many directions. And these branches, in turn, split and stretch, and grow in different ways. They weave in and out amongst themselves. They curve around things. They sprout tendrils to hold onto whatever they can.
What we have here is a kind of knot. An inter-weaving of stalk and branch and tendril. The nutrients from the soil flow through the stalk, and into the branches. So the life-force is shared between them. There is a constant flow of energy. When one of those branches becomes separated from the stalk, its life cannot be sustained.
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There’s another image that comes to mind. Maybe you’ve seen these Celtic designs, that have become so popular in recent years, in jewellery or pottery – with the twisting, winding patterns. They’re quite beautiful.
Ancient crosses that stand to this day in places like Ireland and Scotland, were carved from stone with that pattern imprinted on them. As if to say that, through the cross, life is flowing – from God to Jesus to us.
Here’s an example of a Celtic cross. The pattern you see involves a kind of fluid movement, without beginning or end.
In this way, it mirrors the life of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, eternally existing as three and one, each with their own identity, yet joined together.
Jesus invites us to enter into this life, the life that flows through him, and reaches out to us, and ties us all together.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Celtic_cross_in_Beechwood_Cemetery.jpg" width="171" height="65" />One writer says, “Such a close union between Jesus and the believer is not the privileged experience of saints and mystics alone;” In other words, not just for a special few. Instead, he says, “it is the core of Christian life.”[1]
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“Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” As if to say there’s a danger that we might not remain. That we might decide, foolishly, to cut ourselves off from the vine.
Why on earth would anyone do a thing like that? And yet we do. We have this freedom – this amazing and terrifying freedom – to go our own way. To take our lives, and separate them from the vine, either by neglect or wilful purpose.
And when that happens, our souls – the centre of our lives, the essential part of who we are – begin to wither. And as we wither, we lose our vitality, our fruitfulness. Our faith becomes dry and diminished. We end up being only a faint shadow of what we are intended to be. A little, shrivelled up bit on the end of a vine.
Have there been times when you’ve felt a disconnect between you and God? An emptiness, a loneliness? A great distance? Do you feel shrivelled up?
Maybe it’s part of the natural ebb and flow of our spiritual lives, as we move through different times and seasons. Yet, whatever season it is, God desires for us to experience the free-flowing life and goodness and love that comes from the very heart of God, and travels through Christ, to his disciples.
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“Remain in me,” says Jesus, “and I will remain in you.” “Stay with me. Abide with me.” Did you count how many times that one single word – abide or remain (it’s the same word, translated two different ways) – is repeated in our passage of scripture?
Seven times in English! Eight in the original Greek text. Forty times in the whole Gospel of John, where it seems to be one of Jesus’ favourite expressions.
Don’t let your branch be separated from the vine. Remain in me.
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I think of that hymn we sing near Remembrance Day: “Abide With Me.” It speaks of life and death, and prays that in every moment of change, in every sorrow and loss, that God would be with us.
Which is exactly what Jesus promises. “Stay with me. And I will stay with you.”
“Make your home with me,” is how one translation puts it. Wherever we live, our true home, our “abiding place,” the place where we are deeply rooted in God’s love, does not change.
“Make your home with me, and I will make my home with you.” Let the love of God flow from me to you to neighbour, to stranger. Let it be always present, in all of life.
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This image of vine and branches has to do with being connected. Not living in isolation from God, or others. But living and growing in God’s love. Discovering that is what holds us together. Knowing that common source of life.
Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, speaks of a “deep human disconnect from self, neighbour, earth, and God” that is widespread in our society.
As I reflect on these past few years, it seems to me that our world is becoming more disconnected. More isolated. More separated into camps that don’t know how to communicate. Even within our families, within our churches.
Rallies in the streets, chanting slogans, disparaging our neighbours. This is not what God desires for our lives. When we are rooted in Christ, growing deeper in the life and love he gives, we are drawn closer to one another. Connections are strengthened.
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It seems to me that this is exactly the message God has for us at this particular moment in our lives! These next few months our congregation will be discussing future directions. We are living through a time of change. We may be grieving loss. We may be fearful, uncertain where God is taking us.
Well … welcome to the world of Jesus’ disciples! Who also lived through these same sort of things. It wasn’t always smooth sailing for them.
“Stay with me!” Jesus said. Stay close to me. Abide with me.
This is what the community of faith is meant to be: an “abiding place.” A community that, every day, is soaking up the nourishment that comes from Christ.
I am the vine. You are the branches. Whatever happens, stay close to me. Let my life be in you!
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Living with other branches is never easy.
One church I know of had a lovely idea. They had an artist hand paint a vine on one of the hallways. And all the members of the church put their handprint somewhere beside the vine. Whenever anyone new joined the church, their handprint would be added to the mural.
It’s a great illustration of how our lives are joined together as disciples of Jesus.
But the pastor of that church also acknowledged that living together can be a challenge. One member, whose handprint is right next to another, may say something offensive. They may gossip behind their back. They may act in a way that is harmful and threatens to tear that community apart.[2]
Only when we are rooted in a gospel of enduring love and tender mercy are we able to be God’s people.
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The goal of living on the vine, being connected to Christ, is always to bear fruit. It’s not just about knowing Jesus, and receiving his life within. It’s about allowing his life to work through us to bear fruit in the world. When God’s love takes hold of us, all kinds of good things can happen!
Travellers from Thailand may be welcomed. And some may catch their contagious enthusiasm for the gospel. Small donations may be offered to support the work of restorative justice. Comforters may be crafted with care. Young people may commit themselves to one another in marriage. Seniors may find companionship and support.
Do you know any place like that? Could we be that place? When the Spirit of Christ is flowing in us and through us, the kingdom of God becomes real, more than just a nice idea. It takes on flesh and blood in the world we live in.
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“I am the vine; you are the branches. If anyone remains in me and I in them, they will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.” Nothing.
When we’re disconnected, we wither. But when we’re joined to the vine, we live! We are fruitful. And God’s good creation flourishes.
Remain in me. Stay connected. Hold together. Let my life and love be in you, and flow through you to others. May it be so! Amen.
[1] JOHN R. DONAHUE | MAY 13, 2000 in “America: The National Catholic Weekly,” http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2081, Accessed May 3, 2012.
[2] Thom M. Shuman, Transitional Pastor Galloway Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ohio, Associate Member, Iona Community, Midrash, April 26, 2018.