Dearest e-votees-
Our gospel lesson for this Sunday is one about staying connected to Jesus.
May all of us abide in Jesus drawing life and hope and peace and love from him no matter what things come our way in the days and weeks ahead.
Peace,
Karl
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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
John 15:1-8, NRSV
There is a word that shows up an awful lot in our eight verses above--“abide” . Feel free to count them if you wish:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
John 15:1-8, NRSV
If the interested reader were to pick up an NRSV and keeping reading there would be another 3 abides in the next two verses. This word in the Greek is meh-no and it is the linguistic ancestor for our word “remain” . The invitation and the exhortation from Jesus is for us to remain.
If we remain there is the expectation that pruning will occur in our lives. Vines work best when some parts are cut off and the healthier parts are nourished. Sometimes vines can look very bare and almost dead when the pruner is putting the shears back in the shed. It is through that pruning, however, that fruit grows best. Pruning is a sign of long-term investment and abiding care. What might God be pruning from our lives?
If we remain there is the expectation that our lives will be fruitful. If we want our lives to truly produce things of lasting importance we want to remain in Jesus. The fruits of the spirit look different than those of the world. If we take our harvest of spiritual fruits to the produce markets of this world we may well be disappointed at the offered price. What the world thinks of and how it values our fruits is immaterial. The fruits God works in our lives are meant to be given away rather than sold. For the best harvest of fruit in our lives we need to remain attached to the vine.
Jesus talks about remaining in him and his words remaining in us. He says that when these things happen the things that we ask will be granted. I believe much of what is being said here is that when we stay close to Jesus our hearts and prayers will be shaped into harmony with God's heart and desires. Surely not every prayer will be answered as we wish ( “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me...” ). But just as surely our hearts and wills can grow into those of God's ( “...yet not what I want but what you want.” ) [Matthew 26:39] Prayer is as much about changing us as it is changing the circumstances around us. [I commend to you Gordon Atkinson's piece "Why Don't You Write Something About Prayer/Something About Prayer" in the book RealLivePreacher.com]
God, help us this day to abide with and in you. We are so grateful that you abide with and in us. We invite you to prune our lives. We pray that you would help us to bear fruit. Draw our hearts and souls and minds and strengths into your ways. Amen.
Our gospel lesson for this Sunday is one about staying connected to Jesus.
May all of us abide in Jesus drawing life and hope and peace and love from him no matter what things come our way in the days and weeks ahead.
Peace,
Karl
---------------------------
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
There is a word that shows up an awful lot in our eight verses above--“abide” . Feel free to count them if you wish:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
If the interested reader were to pick up an NRSV and keeping reading there would be another 3 abides in the next two verses. This word in the Greek is meh-no and it is the linguistic ancestor for our word “remain” . The invitation and the exhortation from Jesus is for us to remain.
If we remain there is the expectation that pruning will occur in our lives. Vines work best when some parts are cut off and the healthier parts are nourished. Sometimes vines can look very bare and almost dead when the pruner is putting the shears back in the shed. It is through that pruning, however, that fruit grows best. Pruning is a sign of long-term investment and abiding care. What might God be pruning from our lives?
If we remain there is the expectation that our lives will be fruitful. If we want our lives to truly produce things of lasting importance we want to remain in Jesus. The fruits of the spirit look different than those of the world. If we take our harvest of spiritual fruits to the produce markets of this world we may well be disappointed at the offered price. What the world thinks of and how it values our fruits is immaterial. The fruits God works in our lives are meant to be given away rather than sold. For the best harvest of fruit in our lives we need to remain attached to the vine.
Jesus talks about remaining in him and his words remaining in us. He says that when these things happen the things that we ask will be granted. I believe much of what is being said here is that when we stay close to Jesus our hearts and prayers will be shaped into harmony with God's heart and desires. Surely not every prayer will be answered as we wish ( “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me...” ). But just as surely our hearts and wills can grow into those of God's ( “...yet not what I want but what you want.” ) [Matthew 26:39] Prayer is as much about changing us as it is changing the circumstances around us. [I commend to you Gordon Atkinson's piece "Why Don't You Write Something About Prayer/Something About Prayer" in the book RealLivePreacher.com]
God, help us this day to abide with and in you. We are so grateful that you abide with and in us. We invite you to prune our lives. We pray that you would help us to bear fruit. Draw our hearts and souls and minds and strengths into your ways. Amen.
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