April 15, 2015

“Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

“All the vine possesses belongs to the branches. The vine does not gather from the soil its fatness and its sweetness for itself–all it has is at the disposal of the branches. As it is the parent, so it is the servant of the branches. And Jesus, to whom we owe our life, how completely does He give Himself for us and to us! All his fullness and all His riches are for thee, O believer;” Andrew Murray (1828 – 1917) Daily Thoughts On Holiness “For All The Saints, volume I (p. 997)

I have written on Jesus’ thoughts on the vine – the analogy he draws between the Father, the Son and followers. The relationship that Jesus points out between the vinedresser, the vine and the branches is similar to the relationship Paul will talk about between the body and its parts. It speaks to a connectedness – a relationship. Just as one body part cannot live on its own without other parts to help in serving the whole body, so the vine cannot live without the branches – the vine gives to the branches and the vine serves the branches – just like the branches depend on the Vine.
We take this analogy and we apply it to the church, and to our very lives. The church is there to give to others out of its gifts and blessings: all the gifts that it gathers through the believers, they give back to G*d and to people in worship, in Sacraments, in learning, in teaching, etc.; and the church is also there to serve others, in ministry – out of its gifts and blessings it gives back to the community to people who are in need.
All we have comes from G*d. We cannot get too conceited with the gifts that we share with others and with the community, because Jesus gives us a warning: “apart from me you can do nothing.” It is easy to begin to believe that the gifts we have are our own – that it is from our own resources and strength that we have the gifts to begin with. The Holy Spirit is what gives us the power, the strength, the gifts to share with others. Remember, Jesus says that the Father is the one who “dresses” the vine – or in other words, plants, tills and cares for the vine. It all begins with G*d — the Vinedresser. Jesus is the Vine – the Holy Spirit is the power of growth, fruit, and abundance. Working together in our lives, we will be able to bear much fruit.

Pastor Dave