I am the Vine

2 May John 15:1-8

As a side note, I must say that my very first reaction to this gospel was joy and laughter. I read the first line, and I knew. I knew I would use some suspicious wine analogy to base my reflection on. Hence, laughter. Because what is more stereotypical than a French person talking about a vine that produces grapes which in turn, when fermented, produces wine.

My second reaction was that this resonated in me in a much more intense and deeper level than I first expected it.

Because this is about how vulnerable we all are, and somehow this includes Jesus.

Jesus is the vine; we are the branches.

So, without him, we do not grow, but that also means that without us, he is a branchless trunk. A lifeless trunk. A vine that bears no grapes.

Yet, when branches do grow from the trunk, from the vine, it is together that we produce grapes. Together includes not only us relying on Jesus, but also us relying on each other. We depend on each other. We must rely on each other to grow.

I believe that this gospel encourages us to rely without reserve on Jesus and on others. To let ourselves be fed by the vine, by Jesus’ words, by all that has existed and come before us, and by others.

But this requires humility. The humility to accept that we intrinsically need others. Branches grow from other branches, which means that we need a community of branches to just be. Our vulnerability is rooted in this. In this very fact that we must rely on others. That we need to trust ourselves and each other and Jesus.

But this dependence doesn’t stop there because what becomes of a vine without the care of its vine grower?

You have the answer: a vine needs a vine grower, namely God.

So, we are truly vulnerable because we depend first on Jesus, then on others, but ultimately on God.

This made me realize that I had much more in common with Jesus than I thought. We both need God.

This grapes (wine) - making deal is quite fragile when thoroughly considered. Jesus depends on us as much as we depend on him. And we all depend on the care that God gives us all, Jesus included. Jesus is as vulnerable as we are in this.

If the vines or vineyard is not taken care of, it gets sick and dies.

The vine and its branches need lots of care to produce the grapes that only grow for a very short period of time of the year, only 3 months out of 12.

But God stays and cares for us patiently through it all. God cares for us throughout the seasons of our lives, whether we produce grapes or not. God cares for us, whether we admit it or not.

When our buds are frozen, when our joy has lost its warmth, God allows us to bloom again.

God does the necessary pruning that is needed to increase the growth of grapes. Some branches need to be cut. The same way we need to let go. God helps us to let go of our inner dead branches by cutting them down and burning them. It forces us to grieve these parts of us, to let them ascend in fire towards the stars. This allows us to then grow more fruits on our branches.

Us and somehow also Jesus need to be taken care of, because after we all are deeply intrinsically fragile and vulnerable beings who must survive together through storms and other severe weather.

But, despite the violence of elements and of this life that jolts us, I believe that peace is there. Peace can be found in God caring for us.

But we must accept it, not fight it. We must be willing and open to receive the patience, love and care that God can give us. We must let down our guards and the illusionary fortress we hide behind. We must welcome the unconditional care that we deserve for the sole reason that we are.

This is about letting down our barriers and welcoming the caring gestures of the vine grower. This is about being open to the gentleness and kindness of God but also of Jesus and of our fellow branches. This is about admitting to being taken care of because we are such fragile beings no matter how much we tell ourselves otherwise.

This made me realize that I must let down my guard and the illusionary fortress I hide behind.

I have to bear the responsibility of abiding in (Jesus’ trunk), I have to accept to stop running and to welcome the care that I am craving for, from others and from God.

This sounds like my next journey ahead that I will hopefully share with some of you, but I must share a thought before starting it. I think that if God collected the grapes the branches of this community produce, the wine that would be made with them would grow with time, to have a taste of heaven.