John 15: 1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 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.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Present to Our Creator
“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.”
When Jesus says that he is the vine, he is reminding us of our life source, to abide in what gives us life, to stay close, to dwell in it. He is calling us to embody our createdness. The branches wither away if separated from the vine. So too do we suffer when we forget from whom we come. Think of our breath, or ruah, the divine lifeforce. When we take a moment to breathe deeply, to be present to our creator, we calm.
The call to “abide in me” is not only for human beings, though. All of creation comes from that same divine life source. If we try to stay close to Jesus while severing earth’s resources from their life source, we are failing Jesus’ call. The earth withers when we forget that we belong to the same source. To abide in Jesus is to show care and reverence for our place in the larger web of life, and to ensure all of creation may bear fruit.
—Claire DesHotels is a Regional Director for the Ignatian Spirituality Project.
Prayer
Holy Spirit,
Help us stay close to the sacred dust from which we are created.
Guide us as we remember what it means to belong to all of creation.
Remind us to dwell in our breath, our life source, and embody a life that allows all life on earth to flourish.
Amen.
—Claire DesHotels