Acts 8:26-40 1 John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 Psalm 22:24-30

Jesus said, “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.”  [John 15:4 NRSV].

Jesus assures us he is the true vine, the real and authentic source of the Father who is the vine grower.  If we are to bear fruit, we are to abide in Jesus Christ.

These words from today’s Gospel lesson are some of the last words that Jesus speaks to his disciples before he goes to the cross.  Jesus seeks one last time to console his followers and prepare them for the hardships to come.   He wants to reassure them that their hope will come, not from fleeing the volatile environment surrounding Jesus in Jerusalem on that fateful night, but from drawing even closer to Jesus – abiding in him, trusting in him, moving more profoundly into relationship with him despite the danger.

And, we are to abide in the vine that is Jesus Christ, to draw closer to the vine, particularly when the world is encouraging us to flee in fear.

As the branches of this real and authentic vine, we know that abiding in the vine means pruning is necessary in order for us to bear the best and most bountiful fruit.  As hard as it is every spring to snip off those first signs of new growth, we know that this pruning is necessary in order to have healthy and sturdy growth in the months to come.  A Chrysanthemum branch will grow tall and proud, but without the protection that comes from abiding within its close-knit fellow branches, it will bear only random fragile blooms rather than abundant blooms amidst a sea of blooms; and, standing alone, it will be beaten down by the fall rains or broken by the wind.   Similarly, climbing roses allowed to grow unchecked will put out leggy crisscrossing unproductive spirals with sparse unhealthy blossoms.

Vine growers know well that the branches closest to the vine will produce the most bountiful and desirable fruit.  Pruning is necessary if we are to abide in the vine and bear more abundant fruit.

Thus, Jesus’ metaphor of the vine and the branches clarifies for us how we are to abide in Jesus and Jesus in us.  Eugene Peterson’s Bible in contemporary language entitled The Message explains these words of Jesus in this way:  “Live in me.  Make your home in me just as I do in you.  In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.” [John 15:4 The Message] It is in the state of mutuality of love and abiding that the best of our fruit in service to Christ is produced.

Certainly, this is a lesson we have learned from our physical isolation of the past year.  It is our human nature to begin to feel alienated and distrustful of friends and family members who are out of touch and separated from us for long periods of time; maintaining and fostering those healthy relationships require energy and intention and presence.

Worshipping in our comfy clothes while we sip coffee in front of our computers has been an enticing means of staying connected, but after months of that practice, our connection begins to grow dim.  A flaming log pulled away from the fire will lose its flame, grow cold, and die.

We miss each other; we miss the awe of this special place where we are drawn together in worship and praise; we sense with sadness our distance from the vine; we recognize with renewed fervor our need for the vine grower.  So, here we are; pruned of our laziness and apathy, here we are, drawing ever closer to the vine where we produce ever-healthier fruit, abiding in God, making our home in God.

As we read in the Acts of the Apostles, Philip made his home in God, guided by the spirit to bring one most considered an unclean outcast – a foreign, pagan, eunuch – into the fold of Christ.  And, John reminds us that we make our home in God where love is, for, as we read in John’s first letter, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”