Dear All
I hope you are well.
Once again, we had a lovely service this morning with the singing and music enhancing our worship beautifully.
The funeral of Margaret Hayes will take place on Friday 14th May 2.30pm at Clydebank Crem.
Everyone is most welcome but please let me know if you plan to go. This is important, for Covid reasons I need to let Tim Know.
Acts 8:26-end
John 15 1-8
1 John 4:7-end
I have the opposite of green fingers. If I have a plant, it invariably withers and dies, If I sow a veg patch it often fails to produce anything worth eating If I sow seeds …they are likely to perish. I suspect my nurturing skills fall well short of the required standard. But it’s disappointing as gardens are such a joy: the colours, blooms, new growth. It does much to lift the spirits and remind us of the miracle of nature. It is not surprising that Jesus often used agricultural terms allegorically in his teaching. He knew the language that would speak to the crowds.
“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.”
Here he is reminding us of the importance of God in our lives. In this beautiful gospel passage Jesus is claiming us, making us a part of him, allowing us access to that which God gives him. He will love us and nurture us and never let us go. In him we shall find ourselves, our confidence and our relevance to God and to the rest of the world.
“Abide in me, as I abide in you” John 15:4
A vine is remarkable plant. As it grows, it develops a very thick, winding stem from which the branches emerge. They can grow such that it can be hard to determine which is the original branch and which are the developed branches.
When Jesus says “I am the vine” we know that he is speaking spiritually. He, Jesus as God, is the Vine. The vine, and the wine which comes from it, are symbols of love, his love in the form of his blood poured out and given as the sacramental wine at communion. Jesus is the visible source of love in his ministry on earth and he invites us to become a part of that vine, a part of that love.
As John reminds us in his letter “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God…… This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:7-9
It is important for us to remember but even though vine branches at first glance look alike, no two are exactly the same. They may weave and curl in similar ways, they may produce similar fruit, but each is unique. And this is symbolic of Jesus’ call to each of us. He calls to us in our uniqueness to become joined with him in a similar purpose, that of spreading the love of God wherever we are. We produce the same fruit from our individual branch, we are integrally united with the original stem. Whether or not we are fruitful vines depends upon us. But we do not work alone….. The Holy Spirit which comes from God is a special gift which strengthens and inspires us to holdfast, and to remain faithful and fruitful, both when we are challenged by the world and in our own personal hardships, indeed when we “pruned.”
This last year we have experienced an extraordinary pruning of our lives. We are now only just beginning to reflect on the ramifications of this pruning:
Too harsh and aggressive in some areas but in others perhaps pruning has encouraged new life…..
The reading from acts today, so beautifully illustrated is evidence of how the spirit can move and transform us when we allow ourselves to embrace it and abide in it. Philip moved by the spirit proclaims the good news of the gospel to the eunuch who in turn asks to be baptised and so invites the spirit to dwell in him. We then hear he goes on his way rejoicing.
It’s now spring. All around us, finally, the trees and plants are bursting with new life. They are beginning their cycle of growth once again. God has planted the Vine called Christ in our midst, and when we are willing, he grafts us into that vine, and provides us all we need to flourish in this life and in the life to come.
Amen