Sunday 28 April 2024
“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” (v. 4)
Background
Here’s another of the “I am” sayings that are scattered throughout John’s Gospel, each giving us a different perspective on the person and ministry of Jesus. For British Methodists, this passage is familiar as one of the gospel readings suggested for the annual Covenant service, the service in which we commit ourselves to ‘abiding’ in Christ for the coming year by saying “I am no longer my own but yours”.
The image of the vine always brings to my mind the ancient church of San Clemente in Rome. At its east end, above the altar, the whole wall is covered with a medieval picture of an immense vine. Within it are pictured men and women going about their daily lives: working, praying, eating. It’s as if the whole of life is caught up and connected in Christ.
In his recent commentary on John’s Gospel, theologian David Ford suggests that the passage might be better translated as, “I am the true vineyard and you are the vines”.
The importance of these verses, though, lies in the way they bring out central themes in John’s picture of Jesus. ‘Abiding’ suggests that we have our true home in God through Jesus Christ. As St Augustine famously put it in his Confessions “You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they rest in you”. The other theme is of fruitfulness. God’s desire is for our lives to flourish and bear abundant fruit, just like a well-pruned and well-cared-for vine.
The themes come together each time we share in the service of Holy Communion. We take wine that comes from the fruit of the vine and we pray that as we drink it we may live in Christ and he in us.
To Ponder:
- Where do you abide? In other words, who and what makes you at home?
- Can you think of an occasion when you have been ‘pruned’ so that your life could become more fruitful?
Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck
Richard is a supernumerary presbyter, living in Gloucestershire after a ministry that has taken him to Tonga, London, Gloucester and Belfast. He was formerly principal of the West of England Ministerial Training Course and of Edgehill Theological College.