Several words and phrases in the gospel for April 28 (John 15:1-8) may strike us as arcane, obscure or repetitive. It seems worthwhile to explore what is behind them.

Here is the gospel for April 28 in its entirety.

Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.

You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.

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.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

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.

**

A phrase that evokes curiosity, at the beginning of the gospel, is, you have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. In what way has Jesus’ word cleansed his disciples?

Jesus connected cleansing with ‘pruning’, which is about cutting back undesirable branches to promote growth. His instructions to his disciples had many examples of reducing attachments to property and people … Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals (Luke 10:4)… Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven….(Luke 12:33) … Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. (Matt 10:37)… ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.(Matt 16:24) If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor. (Matt 19:21)

In the gospels, Jesus urged his followers to live a simple life. Jesus, himself, modelled this life of simplicity and self-giving. His purpose was to focus his followers’ attention on a loving relationship to God and neighbour. He wanted to promote their growth by pruning back their connections to distractions. Yet, it was, and remains, an astringent instruction, one that he, himself, exemplified.

Beyond simplifying life, Jesus urged his disciples to love one another. In the epistle for this morning (1 John 4:7-21) John writes

In this is love,

not that we loved God

but that he loved us

and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

And, if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Love is not always easy. It sometimes takes patience, surrender, allowing ourselves to be pruned.

**

Then we come to abide in me, which appears six times in these eight verses. The phrase is a unifying feature of this gospel.

The relationship of the vine to the branch gives us a clue as to Jesus’ meaning. It is hard to say where the branch ends and the vine begins. In the vine metaphor, abide in me, refers clearly to a reciprocal relationship. It has the sense of “being fully integrated into” or inseparable from. The interdependence of the vine and branches to produce fruit is clear.

Looking toward the future, Jesus recognizes in this phrase, that he will fulfill his mission through the life and works of his disciples through their mutual identification. ‘Abiding in Jesus’ will mean using his instructions as a frame of reference for dealing with other people. It means thinking about how Jesus would act in every situation.

Abiding in him is a whole life orientation that affects every transaction of the day.

**

Finally, Jesus elaborated the metaphor, By pruning back the vine, the Father promotes growth of the fruit. It is a counterintuitive truth that ‘taking away’ produces growth and abundance of fruit.

He, himself, lived out the paradox of the ‘pruning’ of death leading to the fruit of resurrection.

Jesus does not detail the meaning of the fruit, but Paul did in his letter to the Galatians (5:22-23) when he called the fruits of the Sprite, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit.

However, this productivity is possible only with an intimate relationship with Christ.

**

  • When have you experienced pruning that ultimately made you better? Are there parts of your life that might benefit from further pruning?
  • How have you understood the verb abide? Reading it in the context of this morning’s gospel, how do you experience God’s abiding in you?
  • If you have allowed yourself to be pruned, what is the fruit you gained: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

Peace
Michael