I have a plaque in my room that reads “Vocatus atque non vocatus Deus aderit.” That means, “Bidden or unbidden, God is present.” An important concept to remember when reading the beginning of John 15, because otherwise one might be tempted to read “apart from me you can do nothing” as exclusionary, which I don’t believe it is. Jesus is not exclusive and neither is God, and just as the vine is rater clueless of the ministrations of the vine-grower, so often are we (or at least I am) regarding God’s loving presence in our lives. Whether I know it or not, the fruits of my efforts (and my luck) come from a loving God. And when my efforts or my luck fails, then it is God who redeems that.
Namaste! Amen!
The Readings
Acts 15:1-6
Psalm 122:1-5
John 15:1-8
‘I am the true vine, and my Abba is the vine-grower, who cuts every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, but prunes the fruitful ones to increase their yield. You’ve been pruned already, thanks to the word that I have spoken to you. Live on in me as I do in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself apart from the vine, neither can you bear fruit from me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who live in me and I in them will bear abundant fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Those who don’t live in me are like withered, rejected branches, to be picked up and thrown on the fire and burned. If you live on in me, and my words live on in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Abba will be glorified if you bear much fruit and thus prove to be my disciples.’
The reading translation is from The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation (New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007).
No comments:
Post a Comment