Looks Like You’re Just Cuttin’ Branches
At one time, a family with young children moved into a house behind us. We enjoyed getting to know them in pleasant, over-the-back-fence visits. Their two boys were blonde, blue-eyed bundles of energy who loved to play outdoors. One spring, my husband was wielding the pruning shears on the grape vine in the back of the yard, and Marty, who was 5 or 6, poked his head between the fence rails and said, “Hey! Whatcha doin’?” My husband said, “I’m pruning the grapevine.” Marty thought that over for a minute, and said, “Huh! Looks like you’re just cuttin’ branches to me.”
Well, I guess you could say that, too! As usual, our children have a way of getting to the point in their own straightforward ways. We just thought it was so cute and funny, and continued to enjoy the lively goings-on in back of our yard. A couple of weeks ago, our Gospel for the day referenced vines and branches, and as I read it, it seemed to me that Jesus’ descriptive terms got a little tangled, reminding me of the task of gathering up trimmed-off grape vines. They are curly and tangly and challenging to get under control. It occurred to me that I could try the “Marty approach” of looking at it — simplify.
“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.” – John 15:5)
Using images that were familiar to his listeners was very much a part of Jesus’ teaching style. As soon as he described himself as a vine, they could visualize a sturdy, solidly rooted plant, the base from which many branches grew. They further understood that a damaged or unhealthy branch wouldn’t bear fruit, and would need to be removed. The vine can’t bear grapes without the branches, and the branches need the nutrition that flows from the soil, through the vine, to the tips of the branches, producing healthy, abundant grapes.
So it is with those of us called to do God’s work in this world. We need the stable, strong vine from which we can grow and produce. To abide in Christ and be in relationship with him gives us the courage and confidence to live lives of faith and joy, sharing the news of forgiveness, salvation, and God’s abundant love for his people.
But don’t overlook the second part of that phrase — Jesus not only invites us to abide in him but he wants to abide in us. We can’t help but wonder about that — why would that be a choice of the Son of God? But having been fully human, living in the world, Jesus understands how much can be accomplished through us, by our acceptance of this interconnected relationship. So let us give ourselves to his will, and be strengthened by his presence within us, and just watch our branches grow and thrive!
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers