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Staying connected with Jesus

Grapes are a wonderfully versatile fruit. While being delicious eaten fresh, they form excellent dried fruit (think raisins, sultanas) and their juice forms the basis of many fine table and fortified wines. Grapevines are quite tough and will grow in a variety of climates from cool to warm and in different types of soils. It’s no surprise, then, that grapevines are planted widely across the world.

In the Hebrew Bible the vine is often used as a symbol for Israel (e.g. in Psalm 80). The prophets use the image to illustrate the faithlessness of Israel, showing how God took a vine from Egypt, planted and tended it, and came looking for good grapes yet found either no fruit or wild grapes. As a result, Israel will face God’s judgment.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus calls himself the true vine (John 15:1) who produces the sort of fruit that God seeks. His followers are the branches of the vine. So long as they remain connected to Jesus, the source of their life, they will be fruitful. But if they lose touch with Jesus and his ways, they will become worthless branches only useful for firewood.

While we may become anxious about how fruitful our lives are and how well we are holding onto Jesus, the comforting truth is that Jesus is holding strongly onto us at the same time. The fruit we produce – love, kindness, joy, generosity and so forth – develops as we trust in Jesus and in the presence of God’s Spirit at work in our lives. Grapes tend to come in bunches, so our fruit is more easily seen and appreciated as we work together. What sorts of delicious and satisfying fruit are you and your community producing?

From the Minister

Encountering Jesus on the road

While we normally regard Easter as a happy and joyous celebration, it wasn’t that way for the early followers of Jesus. In most of the stories we have of disciples meeting Jesus after the resurrection, they are portrayed as confused, depressed, doubting and in some cases plain terrified.

The marvellous story of two of these disappointed disciples trudging home after the events of Easter starts with this familiar tone. Luke writes that they look sad and gloomy, their hopes of a brighter and better future with Jesus firmly dashed by the events of black Friday. They are joined by a mysterious fellow traveller on the road and get to talking about their recent experiences. Their new friend listens patiently to their story before gently urging them to see the Scriptures that speak about the Messiah differently.

The two invite the friend to share an evening meal with them and as he takes bread, blesses it and breaks it, suddenly they recognise that their friend is none other than Jesus, risen from the dead. Now their hearts are filled with joy and wonder and excitement, even while Jesus disappears mysteriously from their midst.

I wonder how and where we notice or sense the presence of Jesus with us. And why we often struggle to recognise or name this presence. Perhaps we are too preoccupied with our own thoughts and problems. Perhaps we imagine that Jesus would never come to us in our everyday situation. But what if Jesus came to us in the guise of a stranger who listened to our story and then encouraged us to view life in a different way? Who knows, perhaps we have met Jesus and weren’t aware of it. This story reminds us that Jesus meets us where we are yet may be hard to recognise.

From the Minister