Sunday Worship
Welcome to our Worship on the fifth Sunday of Easter. Our Parish Eucharist is at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and our own Revd David Halford will be preaching and presiding. If you can't be with us in person, you'll find everything you need to worship from home here on this page.
Our first hymn this morning is ""We Come As Guests Invited"
Today's Gospel
John 15: v 1-8
Jesus said to his disciples, ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Reflection
Jesus said, "I am the vine, and you are the branches,"
The garden was in a dreadful state after years of neglect. Even in winter, enormous weeds choked the smaller shrubs and plants. The gardener's assistant was about to uproot a climbing plant which had overgrown. "I might as well get rid of this," he suggested. It's just like a load of old string climbing along the fence." "No, No! protested the gardener: That's a beautiful Clematis. If it is carefully pruned and nurtured it will produce the most beautiful flowers next Spring and Summer."
As most gardeners know, may plants appear to be dead in the winter but with care and pruning they can produce spectacular flowers and fruit. The newly pruned plant is given strength as the weaker parts of the plant receive nourishment from the stronger central stem. Pruning can seem a very drastic thing to do, and the nervous gardener may not have the confidence to cut back as much as is needed. It is hard to cut off all the old growth but it is essential to do so if the plant is to continue to be fruitful and beautiful.
In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks of himself as the living, growing vine, with us as his branches. Living and growing - in more than just a physical way. We are shaped and pruned by the Word of God as spoken to us by Jesus; in this way we will bear more fruit. The shaping and the pruning may sometimes be painful and difficult. It may involve the loss of things that have become precious to us. It always involves trusting in the wisdom of the Gardener - trusting God enough with our lives to let him shape and mould us in the ways that enable us to become the people we were created to be.
Jesus wants his disciples to be a living, vibrant fruitful presence in the world. For the followers of Jesus fruitfulness relies on their dependence on the vine. We are the branches; we cannot bear fruit by ourselves - we have to rely on Jesus; listening to the words of the Gospel, putting them into practice in our daily lives. We also have to rely on each other - vine branches are all interconnected, part of each other, feeding off the same stem, out of the same soil, but growing in different and unique directions. We share a common life, and within that we become our own unique, distinctive selves.
But if the words of Jesus do not remain the lives of his followers, like dead branches they are useless; fit only to be cut off and thrown on the fire. Now there is a worrying prospect for those who turn away from the Gospel.
Jesus invites his followers to make their home in Him - to trust in Him; to rely on Him and to draw nourishment from Him in the way the branches are nourished from the central vine. With such dependence and trust we are invited to "ask what you will and you shall get it". A deep trust and faith in the person of Jesus will bear fruit in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We will be empowered to bring consolation and confidence to those who are weak and in need.
In a world where independence and self- reliance are extolled as necessary values, it may be difficult to recognise the importance of depending on others and also allowing others to depend on us. Jesus calls us to depend on Him - we are also called to depend on one another. The image of the Vine is startling in its simplicity: if a branch becomes detached from the Vine, it will die. It cannot live on its own. And we can't either. Often, we rush about, following our own chosen path of life and trying to do good for those around us. We may forget about depending on Jesus, on one another. And we may, as it were, be dead inside, and feel lonely and isolated. As well as doing good for others it is Important to allow others to be good to us. If we are willing to be open and honest about our frailties then we allow Jesus into our lives. If our love is real and active, if we rely on Him and make our home in Him, the words of Jesus will truly bear fruit in our lives and in the world in which we live.
Our Prayers
Amen
Our final hymn is "You Are The Vine, We Are The Branches"
