DELIBERATELY DIVERSE | Rev. Terry Pierce
Deliberately Diverse represents the opinions of a group of Taylor friends who never completely agree about anything but enjoy diverse discussions.
Jesus told his disciples he was the vine and his father the vine grower.
He used the example of pruning the vine so that we might bear fruit.
Then Jesus invites the disciples, “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.”
To “abide in” is to make your home in or to dwell within. And Jesus invites us to abide in him while he abides in us or makes his home in us.
I grew up in what I would call fire and brimstone country. So even as I hear the invitation, I also hear the threat that if you don’t abide in me, you will burn in hell.
Like much Scripture, we need to understand the world of the disciples to know what they heard in this.
It is spring. In the vineyard, the vine grower is doing two things: For the branches that bear fruit he is pruning off extra growth so that all the energy will be dedicated to the fruit. But there are also branches that bear no fruit.
The Greek word in the sentence, “He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit” means something more like cleaning. So imagine that what the vine grower is doing is cleaning up the branches that bear no fruit with the purpose they will thicken so they can grow fruit in future years and pruning the branches that bear fruit so their energy will go to the fruit.
Some bear fruit now and some are developing so they will bear fruit a later year. All are of value.
In the fall in the vineyards, the branches were trimmed back and all the wood that wasn’t attached to the vine was piled up and burned. The branches being thrown in the fire and burned were part of the routine of the vineyard, keeping it in order. This isn’t a threat of separation from God or abandonment – It is a statement about the cycle of life in the vineyard.
Do you want to grow fruit or do you want to be in the woodpile? I am for being pruned and cleaned and producing fruit.
Pierce is vicar of St.
James’ Episcopal Church in Taylor and can be reached by email at ministry@ stjamestaylor.org.
