ROOT, VINES, BRANCHES, AND FRUIT

Solemnity of St. George and Easter V (Rogation Sunday)

27 April, AD 2008

TEXT: St. John 15:1-8

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

        It never ceases to amaze me how much life there is in Nature; how Life imitates Nature and that through that life, God reveals not only Himself, but realities that continuously point to Him if we were only to have the eyes to see with and the ears with which to hear Him. By the steps leading up to our home, we have two large planters with two tree roses in them. Unfortunately during the drought it looked like we had lost both of them, but when we had that life-giving and sustaining rain last month something interesting happened. One of the bushes began to sprout in and amongst all the brown, dead, brittle growth as if life were coming from its very heart. The second bush showed signs of new life as well, yet its life came in the form of new shoots from underground beside the large stem to which the tree rose had been grafted. Within two weeks, one of the plants was in full bloom and continues to be to this day; while the other one, though full of greenery has become spiny and spindly with no blooms and reaches out to scratch you as you go by. It is clearly in need of a severe pruning. If I prune the other bush and remove the spent blossoms, I know that it will produce new blossoms or fruit at a much faster rate and we can and will continue to enjoy them throughout the end of the Spring and on into the Summer. In many ways, what Jesus is saying to us in the Gospel this morning is as simple as that.

        You see, the vine had become the symbol of the nation of Israel. Even the coinage of the Jews had a vine on it, with its fruit that of grapes; symbolizing the nation of Israel as the true branch of Jesse’s stem – the root of God’s ancient chosen people. Jesus came to tell them no, it wasn’t because of being Jewish that would save them because, as a vine, they were producing no fruit and were good only to be cut off and burned in the fire. Rather it was their relationship with God which would ultimately save them and all those who came to know and believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus tells them this quite succinctly in this lesson when He says, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He (the husbandman, God Almighty) taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” The verbs that the King James Version translates as “taketh away” and “purgeth” are actually the same verb in Greek, although it has a slightly different connotation. The first one “taketh away” means really to “cut off” or to “separate from” while the other form of the same verb used for “purgeth or prune” means to “clear cut” or to remove all the dead growth from around it and then prune it so that it can produce more and better fruit. The bad wood that was cut off from the vine was good for nothing – too soft to build anything with and too hard to be used for animal fodder. Additionally, this wood often harbored infection and disease. All it was good for was to be burned; and so it was. These are powerful agricultural images, which all who heard would understand, being used by Jesus to convey spiritual realities – the interconnectedness of a vine with its branches, the nourishment that the branches receive through the vine, itself, and the fact that the branches produce the fruit, the means whereby the vine continues to expand and grow. Finally there is the root which is the source of the nourishment that goes out to the vine, then to the branches, and then to the fruit which holds within itself the seeds of new life. Can it be any clearer for us than that?

        Some of us just returned from our Annual Synod of the Diocese of the Southern States. As I celebrated Mass for the Synod that Wednesday morning, the actual Feast of St. George, God gave me this image of the reality of Vines and branches and overlaid it on top of our Church – The Anglican Province of Christ the King. As the branch draws nourishment from the vine, we, as a Parish, draw nourishment from our Bishop, a successor of the Apostles. The vine not only nourishes its branches, but supports them and connects them to other branches as well. Our Bishop, in his own connectedness with his brother Bishops of the Province keeps us all connected with the other Dioceses and with our Archbishop as well. Finally, and this is the most important, Jesus said to His Apostles, “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Our Bishop binds us into the Communion of this Church – into the Anglican Province of Christ the King. If we somehow became an independent Church and had no Bishop, there would be no Church here for long because the nourishment would cease. There would be no growth because there would be no Confirmations for that, as you know, is an episcopal function. Eventually, there would be no one to care for you pastorally, because there would be no ordinations of Priests to serve you. So in a very real and not so subtle way, God’s theological realities are visible, viable, and vital even in the hierarchy of this part of the Church Catholic we call the Anglican Province of Christ the King.

        Finally, there is the attitude or condition of your own soul to think about. It’s fine to talk about vines as the symbol of Israel or roses or Bishops, Parishes, Dioceses, and Provinces, but what is Jesus saying to you about your own soul, today? First off, Jesus isn’t talking about the heathen or pagans, here. He is talking about those of us who are already His. He says, “Every branch that is in me – already in me – that beareth not fruit He (God the Father) taketh away. Not only is it or are they dead, unproductive wood, dead wood often harbors dis-ease which would infect the rest of the branch, endangering the entire vine. Those places MUST be excised in order for the vine to survive and thrive once more. Even the branches that bear good fruit are pruned back so that the whole may bring forth more and abundant fruit. This, the last of the I AM sayings in St. John’s Gospel, focuses on why we were created in the first place – our purpose in life. We are commended to bear fruit. If we don’t bear fruit we will be done away with. So those of you who care, immediately think, well, what do we do to bear fruit? Jesus tells us, If ye abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Later in this same passage Jesus speaks of His word abiding within us, which is the same thing. So we are told to bear fruit and we are told how to bear fruit. Why? The answer is in verse eight; so that by bearing fruit and glorifying God the Father we become Our Lord’s disciples, His representatives in the world. We become the branches of Jesus’ vine encircling and entwining those who would with the love of God, enabling them to bear fruit on their branches as well.

        This entire picture of vines and branches is particularly powerful as Rogationtide begins today with its emphasis on the summer harvest. When we bear much fruit, God is glorified and we share in a portion of His Life for us now. For there will come a time when the Lord of the Harvest will return and will gather the good fruit into His barns ready for His use; but the dead or diseased wood He will discard and burn. Are you receiving the nourishment and life offered to you by Jesus Christ, the True Vine, so that you can bear good and abundant fruit? It’s being offered to you in this Church at that Altar. All you have to do is to receive it in your soul, be thankful, and believe.

And now, unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed all might, majesty, power, and dominion as is most justly due both this day and forever. World without end. Amen.

                                                            SOLI DEO GLORIA - JEU+