Fruit of the Vine

One of the things I enjoy about the spring months of May and June is watching as the branches of vines and trees burst forth with blossoms and leaves.  It is a sure sign that a new season of life is all around us.  The weather is warmer and we are finally glad to be alive and out in the fresh air.

The vines and branches are similar to our own family trees.  What do you know about your family tree, your family history?  Can you trace back through the generations of your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents or even further?  Exploring family histories can be an interesting and often revealing thing to do.  We could learn some good and fascinating things that our relatives accomplished, and we maybe sometimes discover some things we would rather forget.

One of the topics I have discussed with couples who are planning a marriage is their respective family history portraits.  I have shared with them a form developed by the National Institute of Health for individuals and couples to understand their family heritage.  In their family tree, what were the illnesses and causes of death of earlier relatives?  Were there siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts or uncles, who had life-threatening diseases?  The point of the family portrait is to help couples to understand their respective family histories, and to ascertain whether there are any potential risk factors for genetic abnormalities if they are planning to have children.  Couples who complete their family portrait often learn some things that are interesting and even exciting.

Our family histories are like the vine and the branches that Jesus speaks about in today’s gospel.  Jesus said to his disciples, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. …. Abide in me as I abide in you. …I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, …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."

Jesus spoke a word of new life and hope to the community of his followers.  When he said “I abide in you,” he was speaking to the community, his disciples and then to his followers of every age.  Our community is God’s community and we belong to God.  Gail O’Day, a biblical scholar and former Brown student has said that the metaphor of referring to God as the vine-grower and the community as the branches is a “radically nonhierarchical” metaphor. “All branches are equal before God.” 

The First Letter of John also focuses on the community by stating that all of us are responsible for loving one another, as God first loved us. “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.”  John reminds us that there is no room for hypocrisy in a community that truly hopes to preach the good news.  If we cannot love one another—especially those we know—we cannot hope to proclaim God’s love with authority or integrity to those whom we don’t know.

Jesus used the metaphorical language of a vine and branches to link us to what we don’t know and what is unknown and unseen in the culture that surrounds us.  He used parables, stories about ordinary things in life to help us understand our relationship to God.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower…. You are the branches."  The symbol of the vine explained Jesus’ relationship with God and his disciples.  God is the vine grower, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. "Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”  Abiding in Jesus is about his relationship of love with the disciples and with all of us.  Only by abiding in his love can a person bear fruit and live.  Bearing fruit is about living a life of good works and virtue.  Keeping God's commandments of loving God and one’s neighbors is what bearing fruit is about.  It is so essential to a life of faith that, "Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned."  In other words, one who does not behave in a compassionate and virtuous manner is virtually dead. 

Jesus understood his followers as ambassadors of the gospel.  By living virtuously and by keeping the commandments to love God and neighbor, the world will become reconciled to God.  In today’s troubled world we need more ambassadors of reconciliation.  By living as Jesus' disciples God is glorified we can bear much fruit.  The glory of God is the joyful goal of life that is the fruit of the true vine.   Amen.