Reading John 15:1-5
I find gardening to be fulfilling and relaxing. Well, I’m not that fond of weeding, truth be told. At one time I had some apple trees in a yard we owned. It was hard for me to learn that, in order to have better fruit, I had to prune back the branches each spring. My experience with the Parks department as a summer job had taught me much about the importance of pruning for shape and growth. The city however, did not have a lot of fruit trees in it’s parks. So once I had fruit trees I knew how to prune them to grow bigger and larger, but not for better fruit. Bigger and larger aren’t necessarily good pruning goals for fruit production. Ideally one wants to keep the size manageable –less ladder time, and get the best fruit crop possible. Different trees require different techniques and approaches! John’s gospel reminds us that Jesus is the vine, the source of our spiritual lives. We are the branches grafted in by faith. God the Father is the gardener who prunes and directs for His desired Kingdom crop. As part of the vine, we don’t often see the need for pruning and shaping. God looks at and knows all things and can see what needs done. Our part? To abide in the vine, says Jesus. To stick with him and find our spiritual nourishment, support and structure. I once had some severe damage on a fruit tree and had to cut off a much larger section than I really liked. My anticipation was limited for the next production year. How could this catastrophe, this failure, be of any benefit? Come harvest, I was amazed at the new and fresh amount of fruit on the tree. It had gone through a difficult time, been cut back significantly, but because it’s roots were deep and it’s remaining structure secure, it responded well and produced great fruit. May you, abide in the vine, the presence, grace, strength and holiness of Jesus Christ nourishing your life. May you yield to the tending of God the Father who sees all things and know where best to direct and prune your growth. May you find, even in recovering from the great catastrophes, failures and loses of your life, new fruit.
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