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A Lectionary Resource for April 27 to June 1 2003

May 18

BOTTLED DIVINITY 

Psalm 22:25-31 God acts

Acts 8:26-40 Philip's kerygma

I John 4:7-21 God is love

John 15:1-8 The true vine

Grapes are a luxury to me. I ate them infrequently as a child, and now, when they are always available in supermarkets, they still function as an extra to our main diet; an occasional snack, an embellishment to a salad or cheese board.

Grapes were a staple food for Jews, a key source of sugar, and a safe drink when water supplies were contaminated (I Tim.5:23). Every homeowner hoped to have their own vine. Grapes grew best in the Mediterranean climate, hence also in California, Chile, Adelaide and Capetown. When New Zealand got into the act, our climate did even better.

It is not surprising that the grapevine became a religious symbol. Hebrew Scriptures used it of Israel, God's favourite sweet nation (Psalm 80:8-19, Isaiah 5:1-7, Jeremiah 2:21). When the grapes went sour, prophets set the nation's teeth on edge.

Therefore the writer of John's Good News has no hesitation in presenting Jesus as the authentic vine. This is a claim that Jesus and his followers are the new Israel, AND that connection with Jesus is a necessary condition for true spiritual life. Grapes and wine may be a luxury of affluence in New Zealand. For disciples of Jesus, a basic requirement is still connection to the vine.

The Greek verb "menein" is a favourite in the Johannine writings. The Gospel and letters of John account for half the uses of this word in the Christian Scriptures. Traditionally it is translated as the Anglo-Saxon word "abide", or as "remain, dwell, continue".

What does it mean to "abide in Christ" (John 15:4,5), or to "abide in God", and for God/Christ to "abide in us" (I John 4:13,15,16)?

"Abide" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "bidan", to stay, with the prefix "a" which intensifies the meaning.

Today's readings use the words in a mystical way. How can we understand this mysterious experience and assist others to understand?

Don Cupitt has written three books which document the way that the word "life" has become a focus for articulating ultimate meaning in everyday speech. This accords with J.B.Phillips paraphrase of I John 4: 15,16:
Everyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God finds that God lives in them, and they live in God. So have we come to know and trust the love God has for us. God is love, and the one whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in them.

Panentheism, "God is in all things and beyond all things", would support these readings. We are in God, in love, and love, God, is in us.

J.B.Phillips paraphrase of John 15:4 is even more contemporary:
You ,must go on growing in me and I will grow in you. For just as the branch cannot bear any fruit unless it shares in the life of the vine, so you can produce nothing unless you go on growing in me.

The "life in God" theme is picked up also in Psalm 22:29 (NRSV). Although even the dead in Sheol will bow to Yahweh, the Psalmist will live for this God who acts.

Acts 8:26-40 is the classic story of the court treasurer of Ethiopia, a Jewish proselyte, who meets up with Philip in the Gaza Strip. He takes the risk of allowing this potential suicide bomber to climb into his bus. The risk pays off. Philip explains the life-giving story of Jesus, starting from Isaiah 53. The Ethiopian, a man of action, jumps into a pond for baptism. In baptism he is in the water, and, when he drinks, the water is in him.

To abide in Christ, to abide in love, to be in Christ and Christ in us, is Good News, not only of life-changing encounters with the Divine, but of an on-going experience which sustains our growth.

A PRAYER

Jesus Christ, you are like a grapevine and we are like the branches. Please prune us gently, and do not throw us on the compost heap. We want to share the love that rises from you, and to bear the fruit that will nourish others.
We also want to accept the mystery of abiding in you.
Help us to live in your energy of love, to practice the values and virtues of peace and justice, to develop inner and outer strength and vulnerability, and to be your people in your world.
As we try to love others, help us to love those close to us first, and to allow them to be who they need to be.
As we try to love others who are further from us, give us grace to receive as well as give, to challenge as well as accept, and to speak your name in faith. AMEN