Kristofer and the True Vine
Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches"
With Earth Day earlier this week and signs of spring all around us, it is a good time to ponder the ways in which we are part of God's creation and called to be stewards of "this fragile earth, our island home" (BCP 370). Working in the garden, taking a walk, picking up trash, sitting by the water - in whatever way you can, God calls us to connect with creation in ways that restore and enliven us. In today's SSS, Kristofer offers some woodsy words of wisdom about the "true vine" that is Jesus, what it means to work alongside the "vinegrower", how we are called to tend the vine, and cultivate growth in our lives and ministries (see passage from John 15 below). When the environment around us feels hostile to life as we know it, what does it look like in your life to "abide in the vine"? In this time of challenge, are there any "branches" in your life that require cutting back or even uprooting? How is God calling you to grow deeper, so that one day soon you may "bear much fruit"?
Jesus the True Vine
“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 prune 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. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
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