Being Spiritual Is Being Deeply Rooted and Branching Out

May 10, 2009:  John 15: 1-11

5^th Sunday of Easter and Mother’s Day

Several years ago I heard a message about our changing culture and one of the points I remember is that today we live iin a culture more of images than of words. Of course my kids knew that before I did. When Amy was about 2 I could be driving down the road and suddenly from her car seat she would happily shout, “Donald’s” pointing to the golden arches—hoping that it would get her some ice-cream., Or here in Edmonton, when the Oilers are on a winning streak we see flags on cars with the Oiler crest displayed.

The vine in the vineyard in 1^st century Israel was an emblem that the people clearly understood. The Mediterranean climate provides a fantastic environment for growing grapes and in ancient Israel, as it grew and prospered, the grape vine became the national symbol, just as the Maple Leaf is ours.  It appears on the coins and in the Temple in Jerusalem there was an artistic vine dazzling the eyes because it was made of gold.

A person of wealth who sometimes display their wealth and community generosity by adding another bunch of grapes to the temple’s golden vine.  Because everyone understood the vine, Jesus used it as part of his message to the people—giving it a spiritual depth and attaching his identity to it. 

This passage is one of the “I am…” passages that Jesus uses to give understanding. “I am the good shepherd, “I am the light of the world,”  “I am the resurrection and the life” are all part of what are called, “Jesus’ Farewell Discourses”—He knew his time was running out and so these were words to remembers him by.  I am the true vine and you are the branches.

What made the vine such a potent image for the 1^st century hearers?  It grew all over and it needed and still needs a great deal of attention if it is to produce the best fruit. Often it is grown on terraces where the soil  is carefully cleaned to be pure. For wine-lovers, favorite comes only from special places. Champagne only comes from the area of Champagne in France, and likewise Bordeaux, Chardonnay, and Burgundy wines are names associated with specific locations and soils. The stuff that championship teams spray on each other after winning the Stanley Cup or the World Series might be called  champagne, but if the bottle indicates it came from anywhere other than a specific

Region in France it’s just “sparkling wine.”

One foundational principle that applies both to the Old World and the New World wine is that great wine is always a reflection of a particular vineyard.  Great wine is always a reflection of a particular vineyard.  In other words, if you want to pick a good wine, you have to know the source..

Jesus says “I am the true vine”  and Creator God is the owner and tender of the vineyard. Or we can say that God is the one who tends the vineyard to assure the quality of the fruit.  The vineyard had a long history for the Hebrew people. When things went bad in their long history, as they often did, the source of the problems were often compared to the vineyard. The vines were not producing good fruit, so they needed to be radically pruned back to get them flourishing again. Sometimes it was believed that God needed to rip out all the old vines and cast them into a fire and start over.

The quality of the fruit depends on the roots being deeply planted in good, clean, healthy soil and the branches staying connected to the vine.

Pay attention that Jesus’ focus is that his followers are the branches not the fruit. We are not the end product, w3e are the conduit for the vineyard’s nourishment. Just like a Mother is not totally responsible for how her child or children turn out, she is a significant element in nurturning the fruit of a healthy spirit in her off-spring.

Mom and Dad were proud “Parents of the Day” at their son Michael’s kindergarten class. After spending most of the morning with him in a variety of activities the teacher asked the children to “Circle Up for Story Time”  so they joined the circle as the story read a story called Big. After the story, the teacher asked, “What makes you feel big?” The first responses shouted out were, “Bugs” and “mosquitos” and the teacher scrambled to bring order back to the circle.

The teacher turned to Michael and asked him, “Michael, what makes you feel big?”  His answer was, “My Mommy.”  And the teacher probed further, “How does your Mommy make you feel big?”

Michael’s face brightened, “Oh, that’s easy, It’s when she hugs me and says, ‘I love you.’

You don’t have to be a parent to do that kind of blessing. That’s the divine feminine in each of us and all of us that has the potential to touch and bless the heart and spirit of other people—no matter how young or how old they are, no matter if we are related or not.  Branches connected to the true vine of life and love, Jesus, are conduits of love that produces good fruit in those around us.

Jesus goes on to remind us that we are to “abide in him” and he will “abide” in us. He’s saying that unless we stay closely connected to him, we will accomplish less than our potential. We’ve heard these words many times, if we’ve been part of the Church for any length of time, but we also hear the call of our culture.  Workaholism , status, success can lure us into thinking that we can do it all by ourselves, by our own efforts.  When a branch gets the idea that it can make fruit, make wine on its own, it dries up, withers and is no longer useful,  The purpose, or mission of the branch is NOT to call attention to itself, but to give all the glory to God, the one whose name is on the label.

We are called to be the branches that  delivers the nutrients so that a bountiful harvest of good fruit is produced.  So, how do we stay connected?  The classical Christian way is to use spiritual disciplines to remain in touch with the source of loving grace. 

Spiritual disciplines: like regular time for prayer, meditation, reflection. God’s wisdom is within each of us. The prayer disciplines give us the time, the space, the silence to listen to the voice within. Another spiritual discipline is to regularly fast—perhaps one day a week, or once a month. How does that work? It works because we spend lots of time preparing, eating and cleaning up after eating. And if we choose to use that time to draw close to the Creator again, we renew our relationship with the source of our power.

Another way we renew our purpose is by “pruning.”  In the vineyard, radical pruning is needed. What  that means for us is changing bad habits that keep us from loving and learning the ways of Christ-like love. The branches that wither and die with no fruit are useless in the Biblical story and in the physical world of vineyards. The wood is too soft and so it is thrown into a bonfire. And here is one of the sources of the concept of hell being a fiery furnace. 

As Christians in 2009, we are called to bear good fruit:  We are not condemned or judged for our lack of awareness, or our past efforts, but we are expected to be fruitful and multiply Christ’s efforts here and now.

Ask yourself:  What kind of fruit am I producing in my life?  Am I fulfilling my calling?

Am I connected to the “true vine”—the life and spirit of Jesus?

What can I do to be a more effective, more productive channel of the good news?

What do I need to discard into the fires that cleanse and free me:

            --Guilt?  Fear?  Resentments?  Old life scripts that are now out of date?

Prayer: