John 15:1-27

"I am the vine, you are the branches" (15:5)

Outside my library window stands an enormous apple tree. Last summer, when we first occupied our new home, its leaves provided a cool relief from the hot sun. In the autumn, almost overnight, it deposited its leaves in a neatly shaped pile. Over the winter, it caught a little snow, waved briskly to the north winds and waited for spring.

Spring has arrived.

Yesterday Helen said, ‘I can see the buds coming out already’.

They are beginning small, rolled up in a small bundle to ease through the birth canal of the branch. Soon it will spread widely, and once again life will be seen in all its brilliance.

I wonder if Jesus, as a child or as an adult, observed the relationship among the roots, trunk, branches and leaves or fruit of the tree. He probably did and concluded that it was a similar relationship between God and a person.

A person gets life from God (Creator). We are nourished by God, just as the sap of life flows from the trunk into the branches bursting into new life. The leaves or fruit become the outward expression of the inward life and energy.

‘I am the vine (roots, trunk, branches)’, said Jesus, ‘you are the leaf (fruit)’. This means that to be productive one must be connected to the source of life. It also means that occasional pruning is needed in our lives to remove the deadwood so that the new vines can grow and flourish.

A tricky verse is number seven, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it". It is tricky because the implication is that we can ask for ANYTHING and we will get it. The reality is that if we are really united with God, the things we ask for will not contradict the nature of God. The great philosopher/theologian Augustine wrote, "Believe in God, and do what you like". He knew that if a person really believed in God, that person would only want to do what pleases God (God is love).

A spring exercise – sit and observe a tree. Look at its roots (as much as possible), trunk and branches, and reflect upon the nature and purpose of God/Jesus. Then concentrate on the developing leaf, and reflect upon your life and relationship with God/Jesus. Finally, think of what you are becoming.

(Today's post submitted by guest writer, Rev. Hollis Hiscock.)