John 15:4-5 NRSVue
4Abide 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. 5I 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.
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Some thoughts on this scripture
Reflection
Can I remember times when I have had this kind of connectedness with the
Lord, this feeling of 'abiding' in God?
Reflection
Can I remember when, without this rootedness, I have felt like a drifting
boat?
Reflection
Which do I feel now? and what am I going to do about it?
Reflection
It is a lovely image: you, Jesus, as the vine, me as a branch filled with
your sap, stretching along the trelliswork, linking with other branches,
drawing nourishment from the sun into my leaves, till I am heavy with sweet
purple grapes. When I see the fruit, I may be tempted to imagine I did it
myself. If in our encounters with others we bring just ourselves and our own
ego, we bring them death. When we bring Jesus, we bring life. Abide with me,
Lord.