John 15:1-17
Maundy Thursday
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
“Those who
abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you do
nothing” (Jn. 15:5). Abide. It’s one of John’s favorite words in this Gospel. Abide.
Remain. Stay. Stay close. Sixteen
of the twenty-one chapters in John include this word; it occurs over forty times. Intimacy, connectedness, relatedness,
closeness, these themes run throughout John’s Gospel. For John, these are
tangible manifestations of the Risen Christ among us and within us; they are
signs of resurrection life. These words describe
life in community centered on the Risen Christ, Christ the center. John wrote
these words to his community who struggled with what it means to be followers
of Jesus, and, through the Holy Spirit who spans space-time, they are directed
to us today, to the church.
To be part
of the church of Jesus Christ means we are all connected, whether we like it or
not. We are in this together. And we need each other in order to be
faithful to Christ. We can’t do it on
our own. We can’t “do” church or “be”
church on our own. We can’t follow
Christ on our own. We can’t be faithful
on our own. We need each other. We can’t
be faithful disciples on our own. The
Latin American liberation theologians often talk about convivencia when describing the Christian life. Convivencia
means, literally, “living-with.”[1] Convivence is what sustains us individually
and together, as a community. We are living with one another and living with
the Lord.
That’s why
we have Jesus, here in John’s Gospel, in a section of the Gospel known as the
Farewell Discourse, providing us with what we need to be faithful to Christ
post-resurrection. Jesus turns to an
image that was familiar to his listeners.
He uses an organic symbol, the language of vines and branches in order
to talk about friendship and love.
It’s a
remarkably dynamic symbol, the vine and branches. Jesus invites us to abide in him, as branch
to vine. That’s because, Jesus tells us, he also wants to abide in us. “Those who abide in me and I in them bear
much fruit.” He is the life force, the love that energizes the growth and brings about the yield, the fruit. Even the relationship,
itself, is fructifying.
Reflecting
on this text took me back to Spain, walking the Camino de Santiago. In the Rioja
region the Camino cuts around and sometime straight through acres upon acres of
vineyards. I was walking in
late-September, outside Logrono, near the time of harvest. The green, leafy branches were full of deep,
red grapes, the branches led to old, knotty vines that thickened at the base
where they sunk down deep into the soil.
It was a Sunday, but I didn’t go to worship that morning—at least, not
in a church—I did worship and pray and sang my way along the way, out there
among the vines and branches. “I am the vine
and you are the branches.” I plucked off
several grapes to eat; they were juicy and sweet. I could feel the vitality of life all around
me. The vine is the source of vitality
and life. That’s what Jesus wants us to know, that he is the source of vitality
and life. As I walked through the vineyards I imagined all the wine these
fields would eventually yield, the fruit of the vine to be poured out around
the world. I felt as if I was swimming
in wine. It was flowing all around me,
through me.
“Apart from me you can do nothing.”
Apart from him there is no life. Apart
from him there’s no yield. No
fruit. And Jesus wants us to bear fruit.
That’s why you’ve been chosen to sit at this table. That’s why we are here. We are his friends (Jn. 15:14). As his friends, he says, “I appointed you to
go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” (Jn. 15:16). “My Father is glorified
by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (Jn. 15:8).
What is that fruit? Love.
Love is the fruit of faith—love in relationship, friendship,
community. Jaime Clark-Soles writes, “If
we are not a community marked by friendship and love, then we should close up
shop. If we are not a community with
friendship and love as our key goals and markers, then we may be many things,
some even useful and worthwhile, but we are not a Christian community.”[2]
Love is the vine. Love is also the force—the vinculum, meaning the connector, the
binding agent—that links vine, branch, and fruit. “This is my commandment that you love one
another as I have loved you” (Jn. 15:12).
Jesus said, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one
another. By this everyone will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:34).
Let us share in this meal, given to
us in love.
Let us share this meal in
order to deepen our connection with one another.
Let us remember the one who
showed us many years ago what love looks like—love
is cruciform. It takes the shape of a
cross.
Let us abide in him, the one who lives today in bread and wine,
and in us.
and in us.
-->
Photos: K. E. Kovacs, along the Camino de Santiago de Comopostela, September 2016.
[1] Cited in David Congdon, The God Who Saves: A Dogmatic Sketch (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books,
2016), 42.
[2] Jaime Clark-Soles, Reading John for Dear Life: A Spiritual Walk with the Fourth Gospel
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), 101.
