{"id":3672,"date":"2012-05-01T07:59:53","date_gmt":"2012-05-01T12:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=3672"},"modified":"2012-04-26T13:42:21","modified_gmt":"2012-04-26T18:42:21","slug":"may-6-2012-grapes-and-vines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/may-6-2012-grapes-and-vines\/","title":{"rendered":"May 6, 2012&#8211;Grapes and Vines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by David Delaney, Salem, VA<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Warm-up Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0What is your favorite place to just sit and relax?\u00a0 Think about a place where, once you get there, you are so comfortable that you just do not want to get up.\u00a0 Is it the couch in front of your TV?\u00a0 Or the inflatable float you lie on at the neighborhood pool in summer?\u00a0 Or a chair that could be anywhere, but because it\u2019s at your best friend\u2019s house, it\u2019s your favorite spot in the world?\u00a0 Or the rock ledge on the hiking trail that overlooks the neighboring valley?\u00a0 Or the bed in your own room?<\/li>\n<li>What if the answer to the question had to be a person you love to be with rather than a place you like to be?\u00a0 Some people are at their most relaxed when they\u2019re alone, but for others there are best friends who put them at ease and in whose presence they can be most completely themselves, wherever they are.<\/li>\n<li>Another way of asking the same question:\u00a0 To whom do you go to be renewed in energy, or to obtain trusted and wise advice, or to share very private secrets?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of the feelings associated with such places and people contribute to the idea of what it means to \u201cabide\u201d in the sense that Jesus means it in John 15.<\/p>\n<h3>Grapes and Vines<\/h3>\n<p>In early 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that California\u2019s 2011 grape harvest was down more than 7% overall and as much as 17% in some key places like Sonoma Valley.\u00a0 That may not mean much until we realize that this represents between 250,000 and 500,000 <em><strong>tons<\/strong><\/em> of grapes \u2013 not pounds, tons.\u00a0 The reasons growers gave for the decreased yield were, as we might guess, things over which they had no control, primarily weather.\u00a0 There were a series of unexpected freezes in the early spring and an unusual amount of rain in late spring that weighed vines down and knocked the blooms off of their vines.\u00a0 That was followed by a cool summer and then more heavy rain during the harvest months of October and November, which caused entire fields of grapes to rot before they could be picked.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2012\/05\/shutterstock_99864497edit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3685\" style=\"margin: 5px\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2012\/05\/shutterstock_99864497edit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>One has to wonder just how delicate grape branches, blossoms, and fruits are if simple changes in weather can have such a dramatic effect on whether the fruit actually gets produced or not.\u00a0 Apparently they\u2019re very delicate!<\/p>\n<p>Did Jesus have this in mind when he compared us to grapevine branches?\u00a0 Are we really that susceptible to being robbed of abundant life because of the changing conditions around us, things over which we have no control?\u00a0 That is undoubtedly a part of the story:\u00a0 For many of us, faith thrives when we are living and working in ideal conditions \u2013 a loving and gracious family, like-minded friends in school and in the church\u2019s youth group, sturdy and lively worship with a generous dose of solid preaching, fulfilling opportunities to serve, and support during times of crisis.\u00a0 Who wouldn\u2019t thrive in such an environment?\u00a0 And yet, if those factors change, are we destined to decline in our spiritual health?\u00a0 Can we still bear good fruit?<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s another side to the image of the vine and the branches.\u00a0 Not all of California\u2019s grape crop was negatively affected by the 2011 weather patterns.\u00a0 Some growers of heartier varieties of grapes reported that the fruit was actually some of the best they\u2019ve ever had!\u00a0 Evidently the variety and quality of the vine make a huge difference.\u00a0 There is an important lesson.\u00a0 In California, some grape branches attached to more vulnerable types of vines lost their fruit-bearing capabilities and in some cases died altogether.\u00a0 But those attached to more resilient varieties of vines not only survived the weather but bore better fruit than expected.<\/p>\n<p>We are not like grape branches in one important sense: we can self-detach from a vine and latch on to something else that we suspect might provide a better home.\u00a0 This is the reason Jesus could give the unusual instruction to his disciples to remain attached to him like a branch is connected to a vine.\u00a0 He wanted to make sure we understood how vulnerable we can be to the changes and challenges going on around us.\u00a0 So there is a difference between just attaching to any vine that may be out there promising to sustain us through rough weather and staying attached to Jesus, who is not just any vine, but the sturdiest and heartiest of all vines, the true life-giver.<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>What does it mean to \u201cbear fruit\u201d?\u00a0 What kind of fruit are we, the branches of the vine, expected to bear?<\/li>\n<li>Outside of this section, the word \u201cfruit\u201d only occurs twice in the Gospel of John, but students of scripture over the centuries have often connected this passage with one from another New Testament writer, Paul, who speaks of \u201cthe fruit of the Spirit\u201d in Galatians 5:22-23.\u00a0 What do we learn from that passage that helps us understand the experience that Jesus intends for us?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 6, 2012 (Fifth Sunday of Easter)<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=202377942\">\u00a0Acts 8:26-40<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=202377988\">1 John 4:7-21<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=202378026\">John 15:1-8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Text links are to <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/\">Oremus Bible Browser<\/a>. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elca.org\/Growing-In-Faith\/Worship\/Lectionary.aspx\">Lectionary Readings<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.agnusday.org\/\">Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Gospel Reflection<\/h3>\n<p>Whenever we come across passages of scripture that set up scenarios of success and failure in the life of faith, we always run the risk of turning the good news of God\u2019s saving love for us back into a law that discourages and depresses us or a system that supposedly lays out a formula for making God happy and assuring our salvation.\u00a0 In this passage that tendency is enhanced by the starkness with which the consequences of failing to abide are described:\u00a0 \u201cHe removes every branch in me that bears no fruit \u2026 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers;\u00a0 such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It sounds rather judgmental and threatening.\u00a0 If we are of a fearful conscience, this verse can leave us in terror that we will do it wrong and end up discarded.\u00a0 If on the other hand we trust in our own righteousness, the task of abiding just becomes one more goal that we check off our list of things we do to make God like us.\u00a0 In fact, however, this passage allows neither of those conclusions.<\/p>\n<p>To abide means to remain connected to Jesus over time.\u00a0 It is being in relationship with him.\u00a0 It is not a matter of doing it right or wrong, but just being aware of how dearly he, the vine, is holding onto us, the branches.\u00a0 Furthermore, we must remember that the life that is promised does not flow from branches to the vine, but the other way \u2013 from the vine (Jesus) to the branches (us).\u00a0 All of these words about abiding in the vine do not describe a hoop we must jump through or a spiritual state for which we must strive, but a reality that is already true as he declares it \u2013 \u201cyou have already been cleansed (or pruned) by the word that I have spoken to you.\u201d\u00a0 Perhaps we need to hang on to our list of synonyms for \u201cabide\u201d that was suggested above \u2013 \u201crelax with me,\u201d \u201cdwell with me,\u201d \u201cremain with me,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cbe still with me\u201d \u2013 as a way of hearing the good news in this passage.<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Try to think of some words that could mean the same thing as \u201cabide.\u201d\u00a0 Some possibilities:\u00a0 remain, stay, live, relax, dwell, connect, rely on, stay close to, and others.\u00a0 So how does one \u201cabide\u201d in the Christ the vine?\u00a0 What faith practices do you engage in that help keep that relationship alive and flowing?<\/li>\n<li>What does Jesus mean by verse 7? \u2013 \u201cIf you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.\u201d\u00a0 That sounds like a pretty outlandish promise, given that I could wish for all kinds of crazy things.\u00a0 But this is the second time he has said it (see 14:13-14)!\u00a0 How does this work then?\u00a0 Can it be that if we are abiding in Jesus, our lives and words, including our very wishes and desires, are so completely transformed by him that we can indeed ask for whatever we wish because our wishes will at that point be so aligned with his own?<\/li>\n<li>In chapters 13 and 14, the disciples interrupt Jesus quite a bit with their questions.\u00a0 What question would you ask Jesus if you could interrupt him in the middle of this chapter?<\/li>\n<li>This instruction of Jesus to his disciples comes in the very middle of a much longer conversation during The Last Supper that runs all the way from chapter 13 through chapter 17, covers a huge number of topics and even includes a lengthy prayer.\u00a0 If you skim through those five chapters (and it helps if you have a Bible with paragraph titles!), what sorts of themes do you see?\u00a0 What kinds of things are repeated several times?\u00a0 How do they relate to each other?<\/li>\n<li>John 15:1 is part of a set of \u201cI am\u201d sayings in the gospel \u2013 6:35;\u00a0 8:12;\u00a0 10:9;\u00a0 10:11;\u00a0 11:25;\u00a0 14:6;\u00a0 and 15:1.\u00a0 Each one says something different about who Jesus is and they culminate in one more instance of \u201cI am\u201d later in the gospel, 18:5.\u00a0 As you look at each of these passages and the titles that Jesus gives himself, which of them strikes you as the most important for your life of faith?\u00a0 What dimension of Jesus\u2019 connection to his followers resonates the most with your life right now?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Activity Suggestions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Locate a piece of dried grape vine and, depending on the size, start adding names of people in your congregation or youth group, either to the leaves if they are still attached, or even on pieces of paper.\u00a0 Then put the vine somewhere where it can serve as a reminder of your constant connection to Christ and your common connection to others.<\/li>\n<li>In response to verse 7, use index cards to write things down that someone abiding in the vine of Christ might ask of him.\u00a0 If it\u2019s true that someone who is so connected to Jesus will find their desires for themselves and the world closely aligned with Jesus\u2019 desires for them and the world, what would those things be?\u00a0 Use these cards as the content of your closing prayer for your study session.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Closing Prayer<\/h3>\n<p>Lord Jesus, we thank you for your life giving and life sustaining call to abide in you.\u00a0 Even as you reassure us day by day that our connection to you remains strong through your grace, feed us also on the life you give so that we may indeed bear good fruit in this world and so become your disciples.\u00a0 In your holy name we pray, Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by David Delaney, Salem, VA &nbsp; Warm-up Questions \u00a0What is your favorite place to just sit and relax?\u00a0 Think about a place where, once you get there, you are so comfortable that you just do not want to get up.\u00a0 Is it the couch in front of your TV?\u00a0 Or the inflatable float you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[12259,12263,334,12262,12260,12261],"class_list":["post-3672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-abide","tag-bear","tag-disciple","tag-fruitful","tag-grapes","tag-vine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>May 6, 2012-Grapes and 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